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Henderson Franklin’s legal team returns to Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa on Friday, February 25, 2022 with a new twist. The main room will offer the firm’s most popular workshop, HR Law & Solutions.

New for 2022, attendees will have the option to attend breakout sessions focusing on niche corporate matters and contracts, family businesses, startups and how to make informed real estate decisions. Click here to download the brochure.

Topics and speakers

General Session #1, Lingering Effects of COVID on Florida Employers, presented by Scott Atwood, Esq.

From business shutdowns and PPP loans to vaccinations, COVID has presented unique challenges to Florida businesses. Henderson Franklin’s employment group chair Scott Atwood will address the multi-faceted employment issues that employers may face, including: current obligations over masks and mandatory vaccinations; how to deal with possible long-term disability claims and leave issues arising from COVID; increased union activity; and the pros and cons of a remote/hybrid workforce.

General Session #2, Saving a Buck can Cost you a Million. Update on Recent Employment Cases and Mistakes that Employers Keep Making, presented by Scott Atwood, Esq. and Robert Shearman, Esq.

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Continue Reading Registration is Open: Southwest Florida Legal Summit

401KEmployers who sponsor retirement plans for their employees must periodically restate the plans for changes in applicable laws to maintain the plans’ favorable tax status. The Internal Revenue Service generally requires that plans be restated on a six-year cycle, the last of which concluded in 2016.

The current cycle is the third since the six-year cyclical program of plan restatements was implemented. Cycle 3 restatements of pre-approved defined contribution plans, including most 401(k) and profit sharing plans, must be adopted by no later than July 31, 2022.

The Appeal of Pre-Approved Retirement Plans

Pre-approved plans are retirement plans offered by a document provider (such as a financial institution or benefits practitioner) for adoption by employers. The plan document typically includes a variety of elective provisions from which an employer may choose and effectively customize the plan to best serve the needs of the organization and its employees.

Before making the plan document available for adoption by employers, the document provider will have obtained IRS approval of the plan as meeting the requirements applicable to tax-qualified retirement plans under the Internal Revenue Code.…

Continue Reading The retirement plan for your employees may need a fresh look – soon

health insuranceSponsors of group health plans have new responsibilities following the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) on March 11, 2021. Under ARPA, certain participants and beneficiaries of employer-sponsored health plans are eligible for a federal subsidy, which will cover for a limited period 100% of the premium for COBRA continuation coverage. The subsidy is also available in the case of plans covered by Florida’s mini-COBRA law, which applies to group health plans of employers having fewer than 20 employees.

The Importance of Being an “Assistance Eligible Individual”

Federally subsidized COBRA coverage is available only to a person who is an Assistance Eligible Individual (“AEI”) under ARPA. This term comprehends an employee or former employee, and any dependent, losing group health plan coverage as a result of an employee’s reduction in work hours or involuntary termination.

Persons losing coverage because of an employee’s voluntary retirement are not AEIs. Nor is anyone who is eligible for coverage under another group health plan, such as through a spouse’s employment, or for Medicare, an AEI, even though they don’t enroll in the alternative coverage. These individuals may be eligible to elect COBRA, but they will generally have to pay for the coverage themselves.

ARPA Subsidy Availability

The COBRA subsidy first became available on April 1, 2021, but can be retroactively effective to that date for AEIs having COBRA coverage at the time, who may be reimbursed for premiums they paid or receive a credit against future premiums.

In many cases, an AEI who was not already covered by COBRA at the beginning of the subsidy period will be able to elect COBRA continuation coverage retroactive to April 1, 2021, and have the cost of the coverage completely paid by the federal government, regardless of its cost or the individual’s income level.

The longest period any AEI can qualify for a subsidy is six months, and no AEI can receive a subsidy for a coverage period extending beyond September 30, 2021.

Employer Role in Payment Process

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Continue Reading Employer Responsibilities under the Temporary Federal COBRA Subsidy

We thought this might be of interest to our many small business clients:

The U.S. Department of Labor is offering a free webcast on retirement savings options for small businesses and plan providers this Wednesday, February 23.  Check out the press release here.

The webcast, which takes place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.…

The Department of Labor recently issued updated COBRA model notices to assist employers in complying with the recently enacted Temporary Extension Act of 2010 (“TEA”).  The DOL website has the following model notices available:

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Federal unemployment compensation and COBRA benefits expire tonight due to a gridlocked vote in the Senate.  As FOXNews reports:

Unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits will expire Sunday for millions of voters because the Senate was unable this week to pass a short-term extension, a failure that reflects partly the partisan gridlock that has stalled the

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