BW INSIGHTS

Proposed Overtime Rule: What Employers Need to Know

The U.S. Department of Labor is shaking up the employment landscape with a proposed rule that’s set to benefit approximately 3.6 million salaried workers. This rule, proposed on August 30, 2023, seeks to expand overtime protections, ensuring overtime compensation for those who’ve been working long hours without extra pay. In this blog post, we’ll... Read More

Minnesota Passes Paid Family and Medical Leave: Effective in 2026

Paid Family and Medical Leave On May 25, 2023, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a Paid Family and Medical Leave bill (HF 2). The law provides employees with up to 20 weeks of paid family or medical leave per year. The leave program will be administered by a new division of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development: The... Read More

Now is the Time for Plan Sponsors to Correct Plan Errors: IRS Issues Guidance on the Expansion of EPCRS and Self-Corrections

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued interim guidance, provided in Notice 2023-43, that explains the expansion of plan sponsors’ ability to self-correct errors in qualified retirement plans. The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) sets forth the IRS’s guidance to plan sponsors on how to correct errors relating to qualified... Read More

Affordable Care Act Deadline Extension

On December 15, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations extending deadlines for providing certain information statements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The extension applies to Forms 1095-C, filed and issued by applicable large employers (ALEs), who are subject to the ACA Employer Mandate. The extension also applies to... Read More

UPDATE: IRS Extends Deadlines for Certain Additional Required Amendments to Retirement Plans and IRAs

Earlier this year, we shared an update on certain retirement plan updates originally required to be adopted this year. At that time, we noted that some amendment deadlines had been delayed, but other amendments were still required this year. On September 26, 2022, the IRS issued Notice 2022-45, extending the deadline for qualified plans, 403(b)... Read More

IRS Extends Deadline for Certain Required Amendments to Retirement Plans and IRAs

On August 3rd, 2022, IRS Notice 2022-33 extended the remedial amendment periods for qualified plans, 403(b) plans, governmental plans, and 457(b) plans to adopt certain, but not all, required plan amendments relating to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the Bipartisan American Miners Act of... Read More

Employee Retention During the Great Resignation

In late 2020 and early 2021, employees began voluntarily exiting their jobs at unprecedented numbers in what has been coined “The Great Resignation,” “The Big Quit,” and “The Great Reshuffle.” In 2021, a record average of 4 million workers quit their job each month, surpassing the 3.5 million record set in 2019. This phenomenon has left employers... Read More

Employer Guidance Regarding COVID-19 Impact on Unemployment Benefits in Iowa

Do employees need to exhaust all vacation, sick leave, or personal time off (PTO) time prior to claiming unemployment benefits? Yes. If an employer offers vacation, sick leave, or PTO time to employees, the employees must exhaust those benefits prior to claiming unemployment benefits. Are employers required to lay off employees in order for the... Read More

DOL Releases Updated FMLA Forms

Last week, the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor finally released its updated Family and Medical Leave Act forms. However, I use the term "updated" here loosely, as there were no meaningful changes to the substance of these forms. Nevertheless, if you use the DOL's model forms (which we typically encourage employers... Read More