The IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2024-35, which establishes the affordability benchmark for employer-sponsored health plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The indexed contribution percentage for 2024 plan years has been set at 9.02% of household income, a significant increase from the 2023 percentage (8.39%). Background Who Is Covered • If an employer’s workforce…

Michigan’s Supreme Court has reinstated a previous version of the state’s Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA). The decision was based on the court’s finding that the state legislature had acted improperly when it adopted the 2018 voter-initiated version of ESTA and then amended it within the same legislative session. The resulting amended legislation, the Michigan…

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a model attestation that will be required for use by covered entities and business when they receive requests for protected health information (PHI) that is “potentially related to reproductive health care”. The attestation was released in order to facilitate covered entities’ compliance with rules that…

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection published final rules with respect to the city’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance. The ordinance, which provides eligible employees with up to 40 hours of paid time off (PTO) and 40 hours of paid sick and safe leave (PSL) annually, will take…

The IRS has announced its inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2025.

The Illinois Department of Labor has finalized regulations implementing the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA). The final regulations, which took effect immediately upon publication April 30, 2024, include some changes from the original proposed regulations. A previous alert on PLAWA is copied below for reference. Pre-Existing Leave Policies Leave Accrual and Front-Loading…

Recent updates to the 1995 Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), including amendments and temporary and proposed rules, will change the way the law is administered in conjunction with the 2019 Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) program, under which Oregon employees have been receiving paid family leave benefits since September, 2023. These changes, which will take effect…

The Washington State Legislature has clarified several points of the state’s existing paid sick leave law as it relates to employers that use PTO policies to satisfy the state’s sick leave obligation. Washington lawmakers also passed SSB 5793 to amend the paid sick leave law effective January 1, 2025. PTO Programs PSL Amendment

On April 22, 2024, New York became the first state to require employers to provide paid prenatal leave to pregnant employees. The state’s new Paid Family Leave Law (NY PFL), which takes effect January 1, 2025, will provide eligible employees with up to 20 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal medical appointments.

The San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement has announced that the deadline for employers with San Francisco employees to complete the annual San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (SF HCSO) reporting has been extended slightly to May 3, 2024. A preview of the SF HCSO annual reporting form can be viewed here in order…