This special quarterly series of the Governing Health podcast with SullivanCotter highlights developments in and offers support to the board’s executive compensation committee as it navigates a range of complex operational, technical, and strategic challenges. In this episode, Michael Peregrine, Tim Cotter, Bruce Greenblatt, Kathy Hastings, and Jeff Holdvogt offer recommendations for the committee to
Employee Benefits Blog
Insights on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
The Employee Retention Credit: How to Litigate and Resolve Claims
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC), introduced under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020, was designed to help employers retain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. However, the processing and payment of ERC claims have faced significant delays, with many claims remaining…
Navigating the Shifting Fiduciary Landscape
By Todd Solomon
Todd Solomon recently appeared on the 401(k) Roundtable™ podcast. Hosted by Rick Unser of Creative Planning Retirement Services, the podcast is designed to help plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and members of retirement plan committees stay up to date on recent developments in the benefits industry. During the episode, Todd explored the changing fiduciary landscape, trends in…
Ensuring Lawful DEI Practices: New EEOC and DOJ Guidelines for Employers
By Chris Braham
On March 18, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released two technical assistance documents to help inform what each agency views as “unlawful” discrimination related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the workplace. These documents offer critical insights into how the EEOC and DOJ will…
Reproductive Health Under Trump: What’s New and What’s Next
Over the past two months, the second Trump administration has shifted federal policies and priorities regarding abortion, in vitro fertilization (IVF), contraception, and other reproductive-health-related matters – and it is expected to continue to do so. Meanwhile, new regulatory developments in this area at the state level are also ongoing. Many states now require that…
Breaking Down the New No Surprises Act FAQs Post-TMA III
On January 14, 2025, the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury, along with the Office of Personnel Management, released Part 69 of a series of FAQs aimed at helping stakeholders understand and comply with the federal No Surprises Act. This latest set of FAQs focuses on how health plans and…
Fourth Circuit Stays Preliminary Injunction of Executive Orders Related to DEI Programs
By Chris Braham
On March 14, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a stay on the US District Court for the District of Maryland’s nationwide preliminary injunction of US President Donald Trump’s executive orders (EOs) that target diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs – namely, EO Nos. 14151 and 14173 – which allows…
Recent Developments Relating to the DOL and ESOPs
By Ted Becker
There have been major developments that could impact the future of US Department of Labor (DOL) regulation, investigations, and litigation related to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). During a recent National Center for Employee Ownership webinar, Partners Ted Becker and Julian André explored what ESOP fiduciaries, ESOP company directors and management, employees involved with ESOPs,…
Price Transparency: A Trump Administration Regulatory Priority
On February 25, 2025, the Trump administration highlighted one of its priorities in an executive order on price transparency. While the order primarily focuses on enforcing existing price transparency requirements, it also suggests potential changes or expansions, which would necessitate rulemaking. Potential impacts on health plans include the requirement to make detailed pricing information publicly…
Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Anti-DEI Executive Orders Nationwide
By Chris Braham
On February 21, 2025, the US District Court for the District of Maryland granted a motion for a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s recent diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) executive orders. This decision followed a lawsuit that challenged the orders based on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. Read more here.