Erisa

This study of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) explains in detail how public officials in the executive branch and Congress overcame strong opposition from business and organized labor to pass landmark legislation regulating employer-sponsored retirement and health plans. Before Congress passed ERISA, federal law gave employers and unions great discretion in the design and operation of employee benefit plans. Most importantly, firms and unions could and often did establish pension plans that placed employees at great risk for not receiving any retirement benefits. In the early 1960s, officials in the executive branch proposed a number of regulatory initiatives to protect employees, but business groups and most labor unions objected to the key proposals. Faced with opposition from powerful interest groups, legislative entrepreneurs in Congress, chiefly New York Republican senator Jacob K. Javits, took the case for pension reform directly to voters by publicizing frightening statistics and "horror stories" about pension plans. This deft and successful effort to mobilize the media and public opinion overwhelmed the business community and organized labor and persuaded Javits's colleagues in Congress to support comprehensive pension reform legislation. The enactment of ERISA in September 1974 recast federal policy for private pension plans by making worker security an overriding objective of federal law.

The Fifth Edition of ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide provides a thorough and authoritative analysis of the principal statutory provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the corresponding provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) dealing with employee benefits. It also discusses and explains the multitude of regulations, rulings, and interpretations issued by the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in explanation of ERISA; the Code provisions relating to the requirements for tax-qualified retirement plans; and the subsequent legislation amending or supplementing ERISA and such Code provisions. Cited by the Supreme Court, ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide discusses and explains the multitude of regulations, rulings, and interpretations issued by the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in explanation of ERISA and the subsequent legislation amending or supplementing ERISA. ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide has been updated to include: Description of the student loan program 2018 Private Letter Ruling and the resolution of this with the "anti-conditioning" rule. Analysis of the latest version of the EPCRS, which is available for tax-qualified retirement plans with certain compliance failures, as set forth in IRS Revenue Procedure 2019-19, including an update to the IRS user fees that apply to the various correction programs. Discussion of the new self-correction options for participant loan failures, certain non-amender failures, and beneficial retroactive amendments to increase participant's benefits. Description of IRS VCAP, its uses, limitations, and procedural requirements. Description of IRS Revenue Procedure 2015-32 for correction of delinquent Forms 5500-EZ. Analysis of the DOL's guidance on the definition of an "Employer" for ERISA purposes and subsequent Court rulings eviscerating that guidance. Discussion of health plans use of "cross-plan offsetting" as a way of adjusting for overpayments. Discussion of the new DOL regulations governing review and appeal procedures for disability claims. Complete revision of the mergers and acquisitions chapter, including best practice, common pitfalls, a sample merger agreement, merger checklist, and spin-off agreement. Update on 2018 and 2019 court cases that impact labor relations, as well as actions taken by the current administration that overturn prior policies and decisions. Discussion of the most recent actions impacting ACA and litigation surrounding those actions. Discussion of recent court cases regarding discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. Discussion of ongoing litigation regarding "conscience-based objections" to a provision in the ACA requiring employers to provide no-cost birth control coverage to employees. Description of changes in Fair Labor Standard Act interpretations regarding wages, determination of independent contractor status, and regular rate.