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Legal Update Header On May 18, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-31, a guidance document on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) subsidy for continuation health coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA).

The Notice discusses the background of the subsidy and includes 86 questions and answers (Q&As) about its application.

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Legal Update Header On May 10, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice announcing that effective immediately, it will now interpret and enforce the prohibitions on discrimination based on sex under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to include:

  • Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and
  • Discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
 

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Legal Update Header On May 5, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a second Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for 2022 that finalized the remainder of the standards included in the proposed notice issued at the end of 2020.

The first final 2022 NBPP was published Jan. 19, 2021. This second NBPP describes additional benefit and payment parameters under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that apply for the 2022 benefit year, including the following:

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HR Insights Blog Header All adults in the United States are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. With vaccine distribution reaching the general public, a growing proportion of the workforce is now vaccinated.

In turn, many of these vaccinated employees have also received a vaccine card. It’s worthwhile for employers to understand what COVID-19 vaccine cards are and what uses they may have in the workplace. This article provides an overview of COVID-19 vaccine cards and considerations for supporting employees that have COVID-19 vaccine cards.

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Coverage insights header image Employee injuries and illnesses are not always simple for employers to navigate—making the workers’ compensation claim process increasingly difficult.

However, there are a number of measures that employers can take to reduce the cost and complexity of a claim. Specifically, when employers report claims in a timely fashion—whether to their respective state or workers’ compensation insurance provider—they can potentially minimize their overall claim expenses.

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Coverage insights header image Volunteers bring a lot of value to the organizations they work with. They can help an organization achieve its mission, assisting in areas an organization may not be otherwise able to cover without them.

However, organizations may not think to check if their workers’ compensation insurance covers volunteers, or, worse still, they may wrongfully assume it does.

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Legal Update Header On May 12, 2021, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced it would provide additional help to states affected by the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack.

The White House and USDOT have determined that previous declarations of a “major disaster” issued by the President within the last 120 days allow the states covered by those declarations to use their interstate highways to transport overweight loads of gasoline and other fuels.

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Legal Update Header On May 9, 2021, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a regional emergency declaration (the declaration) for 18 states in response to the unanticipated shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline system.

This unanticipated shutdown has caused (and is expected to continue to cause) fuel shortages in various parts of the Eastern United States.

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On Feb. 18, 2020, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) removed hemp from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA).

This made any hemp-derived products containing up to .03% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exempt from the CSA’s Schedule 1, which is a list of drugs considered to have the highest potential for abuse and no accepted medical uses.