USERRA

[Guidance Overview] The Ohio Military Family Leave Act Is in Effect as of July 2, 2010
Excerpt:"This Act applies to both public and private employers with 50 or more employees and allows eligible employees to take up to 10 days or 80 hours, whichever is less, of unpaid leave when a family member who is a member of the uniformed services is called to active duty or is injured, wounded or hospitalized while serving on active duty."(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

America's Most Generous Public Pension
Excerpt:"[One of the most generous defined-benefits public-employee pension plans in the country is from] a branch of the federal government that lets you retire after 20 years on the job, even if you're under age 40, and guarantees immediate benefits of 50% of your final salary for the rest of your life. That branch is the military."(The Economist)

Review of Insurers on Soldiers'Death Benefits Requested
Excerpt:"Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, requested that the panel review the practice of insurers earning income by retaining soldiers'death benefits rather than sending lump-sum payments to survivors."(Bloomberg via Business Insurance)

NYPD Accused of Short Changing Army Reservist in Pension Calculation
Excerpt:"The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office is suing the New York Police Department for allegedly cheating a retired detective out of pension benefits for two years he fought in Afghanistan and Iraq for the Army reserve. . . . The suit could result in bigger pensions for hundreds of city employees."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Tricare to Allow Civilian Employers of Military Retirees to Offer Cafeteria Insurance Plans
Excerpt:"Tricare is allowing civilian employers of military retirees to offer a cafeteria-style supplemental health insurance plan so that'workers who elect to use their Tricare Standard benefit can buy coverage conveniently and with pre-taxed dollars,'The Colorado Springs Gazette reports."(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Employers Can Coordinate Coverage with TRICARE Under Relaxed Rules
Excerpt:"Final regulations effective June 18 provide helpful details on coordinating employer health plan coverage with the TRICARE military health insurance program. Although employers generally can't give employees incentives to drop or waive employer-sponsored coverage so TRICARE becomes the primary payer, the rule explains when employers can offer cash waiver payments or health plan alternatives."(Mercer LLC)

[Guidance Overview] Final Regulations Issued on Employer TRICARE Incentives (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt:"The Department of Defense has issued final regulations that provide guidance on application of the rules prohibiting employers from offering TRICARE-eligible employees incentives not to enroll in the employer's group health plan. In a separate development, the TRICARE Affirmation Act was signed into law, amending the tax code to provide that TRICARE meets the minimum coverage requirements under the new health care reform law."(Buck Consultants)

[Guidance Overview] A Quick Review of Plan Amendments Required in 2010 (PDF)
Excerpt:"As we approach the midway point of 2010, plan sponsors should be aware of amendments that may be required to be made by the end of the year under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART Act), the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)."(Sutherland Asbill&Brennan LLP)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Provides Guidance on Miscellaneous HEART Act Changes (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt:"On February 8, 2010, the IRS published Notice 2010-15 to provide guidance on certain retirement plan-related provisions of the HEART Act. This guidance addresses: Survivor and disability benefit requirements; The treatment of differential pay for plan purposes; Special plan distribution provisions applicable to individuals who are performing qualified military service; and Plan amendment requirements."(Prudential Pension Analyst)

[Guidance Overview] Military Relief Under the HEART Act:: Year-End Plan Amendments Needed
Excerpt:"[IRS] Notice 2010-15 provides much-needed guidance on the proper interpretations of the key pension provisions, in question-and-answer format. Importantly, it clarified that plan amendments are needed by the end of the 2010 Plan Year (2012 Plan Year for governmental plans), but no sample amendments are included in the guidance."(Groom Law Group)

[Guidance Overview] 2010 Spring Compliance Newsletter (PDF)
8 pages. Key Topics: DOL Issues new Model CHIPRA Notice With Delayed Compliance Date; IRS Issues Surprising HEART Act Guidance; New Law Expands FMLA Rules for Family Member Military Leave; Anti-Cutback Violation to Link Retiree Medical With Annuity Option; IRS Issues New Form for Self Reporting Health Plan Excise Taxes; IRS Finalizes 204(h) Notice Regulations; Labor Department Re-Issues Investment Advice Regulations. (Lockton, Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] DOD Issues Final Regulations on TRICARE Incentive Prohibition
Excerpt:"EBIA Comment: The TRICARE incentive prohibition applies to all employers (except those with fewer than 20 employees). Employers that are subject to the prohibition will want to familiarize themselves with the final regulations, which are effective June 18, 2010. Each violation of the incentive prohibition can trigger a civil penalty of up to $5,000. In considering the regulations'new exception, employers should keep in mind that making a cafeteria plan available to pay or reimburse premiums for individual insurance policies raises issues under ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, and other laws."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

DOD Publishes Final TRICARE Secondary Payer Rule
Excerpt:"The Department of Defense (DOD) has published a final rule that implements U.S. Code Title 10 section 1097c, as added by section 707 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Public Law 109?364). This law states that, like Medicare, TRICARE is secondary to employer-provided health insurance."(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Employment and Training Administration Clarifies Effect of HEART Act on FUTA Provisions
Excerpt:"The U.S. Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has issued a letter clarifying the application of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART Act) to the provisions of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), specifically for certain foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies under contract with the U.S. government. Since the HEART Act amended federal law to cover services performed outside the U.S. for FICA, but did not amend FUTA, differences now exist between FICA and FUTA for coverage of these services."(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

[Guidance Overview] IRS HEART Changes for Employers (PDF)
Excerpt:"The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART) provided tax breaks and incentives for military personnel and affected how employers treat the wages and benefits of employees on military leave. In Notice 2010-15, the IRS addresses various HEART provisions, including those affecting differential wage payments, survivor and disability retirement benefits and certain plan distributions."(Buck Consultants)

[Guidance Overview] New Military Leave Guidance Under the HEART Act
Excerpt:"The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART Act) requires employers to provide certain retirement and welfare benefits for returning military personnel and their beneficiaries. On January 20, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2010-15, which provides long-awaited guidance in the form of questions and answers on several HEART Act provisions, including survivor benefits, benefit accruals, differential pay and distributions."(McDermott Will&Emery)

[Guidance Overview] Can't Keep Up with the FMLA-Military Amendments? Apparently, Neither Can the DOL
Excerpt:"The DOL website does not mention the latest amendments to the FMLA, and the mandatory FMLA poster doesn't comply. More importantly, the recommended certification forms for military caregiver or qualifying exigency leave have not been updated to conform with the latest amendments, and reliance upon the forms that are currently in use could cause an employer to unknowingly violate the law by denying leave to an employee who is entitled to leave."(Constangy, Brooks&Smith, LLP)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Guidance on Miscellaneous HEART Act Changes (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt:"Section 111 of the HEART Act adds section 45P to the IRC. IRC section 45P provides a small business employer a credit against its income tax liability if it makes differential wage payments to'qualified employees'who are on active duty in the uniformed services for more than 30 days. The amount of the credit is 20% of the sum of the eligible differential wage payments made to qualified employees duringthe taxable year of the small business employer."(Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)

[Guidance Overview] Guidance for Implementing Provisions of the HEART Act
Excerpt:"The HEART Act provides that in the case where an employer pays differential wage payments to a participant on QMS, these amounts are treated as compensation for purposes of qualified retirement plans, Section 403(b) contracts, and Section 457(b) plans. The Notice clarifies that employers are not required to treat differential wage payments as compensation in determining a participant's benefit under a Plan."(McGuireWoods LLP)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Issues Question-and-Answer Guidance Addressing Heart Act Changes
Excerpt:"EBIA Comment: While some of the issues addressed in this guidance were previously understood, it offers welcome clarity in other gray areas. Those working with plans that cover employees who are on active military duty will want to review it carefully. [T]he notice provides that plan amendments for certain provisions that are permissive (HEART Act Sections 104(b) and 107) need not be adopted until the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2010 (that is, the same remedial amendment period that applies to the HEART Act's mandatory provisions)."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Notice 2010-15: Guidance Under HEART Act, Including Qualified Reservist Distributions Before Age 59-1/2 (PDF)
27 pages. Excerpt:"The sections of the HEART Act addressed in this notice are section 104 (relating to survivor and disability payments with respect to qualified military service), section 105 (relating to treatment of differential military pay as wages), section 107 (relating to distributions from retirement plans to individuals called to active duty), section 109 (relating to contributions of military death gratuities to Roth IRAs and Coverdell education savings accounts), and section 111 (relating to an employer credit for differential wage payments to employees who are active duty members of the uniformed services)."(Internal Revenue Service)

IRS Provides Guidance on HEART Act in IRS Notice 2010-15
Excerpt:"The Internal Revenue Service has provided guidance in the form of questions and answers with respect to certain provisions of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act of 2008."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] Year-End Reminders for Health and Welfare Plans: 2009
Excerpt:"As an eventful 2009 draws to a close, this Update highlights federal developments affecting health and welfare plans, including new restrictions on the use of genetic information, coverage expansions, the COBRA subsidy program, new rights for military families, parity requirements for mental health coverage, Medicare secondary payer reporting, and changes in HIPAA privacy and security provisions made by the HITECH Act."(Mercer LLC)

[Guidance Overview] Defense Bill Expansion of FMLA'Qualifying Exigency'and Military Caregiver Leave
Excerpt:"With the passage of the NDAA 2010, the right to take leave for qualifying exigencies has been changed in two important ways. Qualifying exigency leave is no longer limited to family of National Guard members or reservists. Under the new amendments, family members of any regular component of the Armed Forces are eligible for qualified exigency leave. The right to take qualified exigency leave is no longer triggered by a family member being on active duty or called to active duty in support of a military'contingency operation.'Now, an eligible employee whose spouse, parent or child is a member of the Armed Forces may take FMLA leave for a qualifying exigency related to the fact that they are deployed with the Armed Forces to a foreign country."(McGuireWoods LLP)

[Guidance Overview] PBGC's Final Regulations Protecting Pension Benefits of Service Members (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt:"Under the final regulations, if a service member is reemployed within the time limits set by USERRA, the service member is deemed to satisfy the reemployment requirement for purposes of the benefit guarantee, even if reemployment occurs after the pension plan's termination. The final regulations are effective December 17, 2009, and apply for purposes of any reemployment on or after December 12, 1994."(Buck Consultants)

[Guidance Overview] USERRA Benefits Under Title IV of ERISA (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt:"According to the final rule, so long as the participant is reemployed within the time limits prescribed by USERRA, even if the reemployment occurs after the plan's termination date (bankruptcy filing date, in the case of the bankruptcy of a covered plan sponsor filed on and after September 16, 2006), the PBGC will treat the participant as having satisfied the reemployment conditions as of the plan's termination date.Thus, the participant's benefits would be guaranteed for periods up to the plan's termination date. This final rule is effective December 17, 2009 and will apply to reemployments covered under USERRA initiated on or after December 12, 1994 (the effective date of USERRA). This is great news for affected participants. Starting December 17, 2009, the PBGC will start adjusting final benefit determinations of affected participants and make back payments with interest. The PBGC emphasizes that the scope of this final rule is very narrow. It only applies to the unique circumstances affording special protection to participants serving in the uniformed services entitled to benefits under USERRA."(Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)

PBGC Implements USERRA Final Rule
Excerpt:"The nation's private-sector pension insurer on Monday unveiled a final rule making it easier for returning service members to receive pension and other benefit credits for time spent in the military. A news release from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) said the rule implements provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). That law provides that an individual who leaves a job to serve in the uniformed services is generally entitled to reemployment by the previous employer and, after being rehired, to receive credit for benefits, including employee pension plan benefits, that would have accrued but for the employee's absence due to the military service."(PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] 2009 End of Year Retirement Plan Sponsor'To Do'Lists
Excerpt:"In this issue we provide seven'to do'lists that may require you to take action before the end of 2009 or in early 2010. Many of the action items are a result of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the'PPA') and may require plan amendments."(Snell&Wilmer LLP)

[Guidance Overview] Amendments to the FMLA's Military Leave Provisions
Excerpt:"The NDAA's amendments to the FMLA do not specify an effective date. Therefore, employers should begin complying with the amendments immediately as a precautionary measure until further guidance is provided. Employers will need to update their practices to account for these changes in the FMLA. Whether changes to employers'FMLA policies are necessary will depend on whether the policy in question is specific enough to precisely define the eligibility requirements for qualifying exigency and covered servicemember leave that are affected by the NDAA's amendments. If so, revising the policy to mirror the NDAA amendments is advisable."(Briggs and Morgan P.A.)

[Guidance Overview] FMLA Coverage for Military Families Expanded Yet Again
Excerpt:"While these changes to the FMLA's military leave provisions may only apply to a relatively small percentage of employees in your workforce, the new coverage provisions will require employers to modify ? again ? their FMLA policies to ensure full compliance with the law. Likewise, employers need to communicate these changes to management employees and other employees who are involved in administering FMLA leaves and handling other leaves or employee absence issues."(Troutman Sanders LLP)

Senate Passes Defense Authorization Bill Which Includes FMLA Military Leave Provisions
Excerpt:"The bill includes an expansion of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provisions related to qualifying exigency leave and military caregiver leave. Qualifying exigency leave would be available to family members of active duty military and military caregiver leave would be available to family members of veterans. The House approved the conference report on October 8. The bill is expected to be signed into law by President Obama."(Hewitt Associates)

Compromise Defense Authorization Bill Measure Advances Retirement Reforms
Excerpt:"House-Senate negotiators included a number of pay and retirement provisions in a compromise version of the 2010 Defense authorization bill, overcoming the objections of Republican senators who blocked the language from the Senate version of the bill. The conference report, approved on Wednesday morning, includes a provision that would allow workers in the Federal Employees Retirement System to count unused sick leave toward their retirement. The provision would be phased in over a four-year period. Until Dec. 31, 2013, employees would receive 50 percent credit for unused sick time; they would receive full credit beginning on Jan. 1, 2014."(GovernmentExecutive.com)

[Guidance Overview] IRS/Treasury Officials Provide Informal Views on Safe Harbor Contributions, ADP/ACP Testing Methods, and W-2 Imputed Income
Excerpt:"EBIA Comment: We chose these highlights from the report's 44 Q&As covering a variety of retirement and welfare plan issues . . . . While the answers in the report do not necessarily represent IRS or Treasury policy, they provide helpful insight regarding the issues addressed. On some issues, the officials reported that the IRS is working on formal guidance. Those issues included optional changes under the HEART Act, the 2009 required minimum distribution (RMD) waiver amendment requirements . . ., and guidance regarding when shutdown benefits are retirement-type protected benefits under Code Section 411(d)(6)."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Guidance Overview] Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans: Year-End Action Items and the HEART Act (PDF)
Excerpt:"[This] checklist describes potential year-end amendments and notices that may be necessary for tax-qualified retirement and savings plans. The list is not exhaustive, but is intended to provide a reminder of the general issues that may need to be reviewed and considered. Also included is information regarding the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (the HEART Act) and its impact on qualified retirement plans. Although the HEART Act does not require plan amendments by the end of the year, its required changes should be considered now.Additionally, this LawFlash includes a reminder that 403(b) plans must update plan documents to comply with the final 403(b) regulations by December 31, 2009."(Morgan, Lewis&Bockius LLP)

[Opinion] Comments on Proposed Legislation in Oklahoma Relating to Treatment of Military Retired Pay at Time of Divorce (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt:"Together with the National Women's Law Center, the PRC sent a letter to the Oklahoma state legislature expressing concerns about proposed legislation that would change the way Oklahoma state courts divide military pension benefits."(Peinsion Rights Center)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Guidance on Model Tax Notices, Contributions of Unused Paid Time Off, and Automatic Enrollment Features
Excerpt:"The IRS issued two model tax notices for compliance with Code Section 402(f) -- one for a distribution of designated Roth contributions and one for distribution of traditional contributions. A participant or beneficiary eligible to receive a distribution of both types of contributions will need to receive both explanations. The new model notices address relatively recent issues such as rollovers to Roth IRAs, rollovers by non-spouse beneficiaries to inherited IRAs, and the waiver of the 10% early distribution penalty on qualified reservist distributions."(Seyfarth Shaw LLP)

[Guidance Overview] Differential Pay as Plan Compensation
Excerpt:"Prior to the HEART Act being introduced, the IRS viewed differential pay not as wages but as supplemental income. This type of income was reported on a Form 1099-MISC, and employers had the option of treating these amounts as being eligible retirement plan compensation. Effective with 2009, differential pay will be subject to withholding (under Code Section 3401) and reported as W-2 income. Section 105 of the HEART Act created IRC Code Section 3401(h) requiring all differential pay that is paid after December 31, 2008 to be treated as W-2 wages, subject to Federal income tax withholding purposes. New Code Section 414(u)(12) provides for qualified plan contributions to be made on differential pay, and that these amounts are to be treated as if the individual were an employee of the employer making the payment."(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] Oregon Enacts Military Spouse Leave Law
Excerpt:"Oregon employers must allow employees to take up to 14 days of unpaid, job-protected leave for a spouse's deployment to and/or leave from active military duty under the newly enacted Oregon Military Family Leave Act. The law, which took effect June 25, applies to employers with 25 or more employees in the state, including public employers. An employee qualifies for the leave if he or she works an average of at least 20 hours per week and his or her spouse, during a military conflict, has received notice of an impending call or order to active duty, or has been deployed and has received notice of leave."(Mercer LLC)

[Guidance Overview] PBGC's Proposed Regs on Interaction of USERRA Rules and ERISA Benefit Guarantee
Excerpt:"The PBGC has issued proposed regulations that would harmonize the ERISA requirement that guaranteed benefits be nonforfeitable on the plan termination date with the reemployment rights provided to service members under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The proposed rules would apply to reemployments under USERRA initiated on or after December 12, 1994."(Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] Recent Legislation and Regulations Require Changes to Health and Welfare Benefit Plans
Excerpt:"Congress and federal regulatory agencies have been busy enacting legislation and proffering guidance which implements many new requirements for group health and welfare benefit plans. Many of the changes will require thoughtful action on the part of administrators and sponsors of group health and welfare benefit plans. This brief outline of current health and welfare compliance developments is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather serves to illustrate the depth and breadth of changes facing plan sponsors now and in the coming months."(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

[Guidance Overview] PBGC Semiannual Regulatory Agenda Addresses USERRA Benefits
Excerpt:"The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has released its semiannual regulatory agenda for Spring 2009, which outlines regulations that have been selected for amendment during the next year, as well as any regulations that have been recently finalized."(Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] Supreme Court Turns Away USERRA Decision Appeal
Excerpt:"The U.S. Supreme Court has turned aside a request to review a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling finding that an employer had run afoul of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by forcing a returning Army reservist to go through a three-week re-entry process. The 6th Circuit decision issued last year held that police officer Brian Petty had met all four of the prerequisites to invoke his rights under USERRA so the employer, the Metro Government of Nashville-Davidson County, could not delay his re-employment."(PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

House Veterans'Affairs Committee Approves Bills on USERRA Changes
Excerpt:"The U.S. House Veterans'Affairs Committee has approved two bills that address employment rights for veterans."(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

[Guidance Overview] For COBRA Subsidy, Involuntary Termination Does Include Call-Up to Military Reserves
Excerpt:"An employee in the military reserve who is called up for active duty has experienced an involuntary termination and is eligible for the recently enacted COBRA subsidy, according to an April 6 Webcast sponsored by the Department of Labor's Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA). Kevin Knopf, attorney-adviser in the Office of Tax Policy at the Department of the Treasury, said at the Webcast that he had erred earlier by stating that military reservists called up for active duty were not eligible for the subsidy."(Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] Wachovia Securities to Pay $1M to Former Adviser in USERRA Case
Excerpt:"The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has ordered Wachovia Securities to reinstate a former adviser and pay him back pay and damages for violating the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The court ruled that Wachovia Securities constructively discharged reservist Michael Serricchio when it offered him a much less compensated position upon his return from active duty. The court rejected Wachovia's argument that Serricchio failed to fulfill his obligation to minimize his wage loss by not accepting the inferior offer or by not seeking other employment as a financial adviser."(PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] How to Reconcile Differing FMLA Leave Periods
Excerpt:"Your organization uses the calendar year to determine an employee's leave balance for all qualifying reasons other than military caregiver leave (which is required by regulation to begin on the first day the eligible employee takes military caregiver leave and ends 12 months after that date). How do you reconcile the use of leave to care for a covered servicemember with other FMLA leave?"(CCH INCORPORATED)

Rep. Lynch Introduces Legislation to Automatically Enroll New Federal Employees and Members of the Military in Thrift Savings Plan
Excerpt:"Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., has introduced legislation (H.R. 1263) that would automatically enroll new federal employees and members of the military in the Thrift Savings Plan and assign their investments to the government securities fund.'Currently, 14 percent of the eligible federal civilian and 75 percent of uniformed service members are not participating in TSP,'Lynch, the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce Subcommittee, said in a statement.'Therefore they are less likely than participants to be financially self-sufficient.'"(GovernmentExecutive.com)

[Guidance Overview] New FMLA Regulations Require Immediate Steps to Ensure Employer Compliance
Excerpt:"First, every employer covered by the FMLA is required to post a notice explaining employee rights and responsibilities under the FMLA ? including the new rights created by the military family leave amendments. An employer can fulfill this'general notice'requirement by posting the newly revised DOL'Employee Rights and Responsibilities'poster on its premises in conspicuous places where employees work. Covered employers must post this general notice even if they do not have any employees currently eligible to take FMLA leave. The new regulations provide that electronic posting of the general notice is sufficient, so long as it includes all of the information in the updated DOL rights and responsibilities poster and the electronic notice is accessible to all employees."(Perkins Coie LLP)

Reserve and National Guard Members Deserve a Better Retirement Plan
Excerpt:"Current reserve retirement offers little or no incentive for members to serve past 20 years, Stultz said, because longer service doesn't change the age 60 start of annuities. So it's hard to persuade members or spouses that another hitch is worth the risk of returning to war or being separated . . . ."(Stars and Stripes)

[Guidance Overview] DOL's Final FMLA Regulations on Military Family Leave
Excerpt:"The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued final Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations addressing the new military family leave entitlements under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2008. There are two new types of military leave: (1) qualifying exigency and (2) military caregiver. The regulations took effect Jan. 16."(Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

[Guidance Overview] New FMLA Regulations: What Every Employer Should Know
Excerpt:"In November 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor published revised regulations to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA or the Act) for the first time in the Act's 15-year history. The much anticipated regulations are over 750 pages long and take effect on Jan. 16, leaving scant time for employers to implement new procedures to comply with the law. The most significant of these changes are addressed herein."(Law Journal Newsletters'The Corporate Counselor via Blank Rome LLP)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Clarification of Rules for Tax Deadline Postponement Due to Military Service or Federally Declared Disaster
Excerpt:"The IRS has issued final regulations, amending existing regulations under Code Sec. 7508A , to clarify rules relating to the postponement of certain tax-related acts by reason of service in a combat zone or a federally declared disaster. The regulations are effective on January 15, 2009."(Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] HEART: Plan Operational Changes and Amendments Required (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt:"This article summerizes what employe[r]s must do for compliance."(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans via Michael Best&Friedrich LLP)

[Guidance Overview] Recent Guidance Impacting Employer Group Health Plans (PDF)
2 pages. Reprinted from Employee Benefit Plan Review. Excerpt:"Recent guidance from the IRS explains how qualified reservist distributions may be made from employer health flexible spending account plans and includes a transitional rule permitting retroactive plan amendments to be made until December 31, 2009."(Winston&Strawn LLP)

[Guidance Overview] New FMLA Regulations Include Military Family Leave Entitlements (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt:"Late last year, the Department of Labor issued revised and updated final regulations on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, including the new military family leave entitlements. The new regulations take effect on January 16, 2009."(Buck Consultants)

[Guidance Overview] Employment and ERISA Law Considerations When Reducing Workforce or Laying Off Employees
Excerpt:"Some of the laws that should be taken into consideration include the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)."(Aiken&Aiken)

Missouri Bill Would End Tax on Military Pensions
Excerpt:"As members of the military retire, a growing number of state legislators want to pass tax relief to entice those servicemen and women to relocate to Missouri. Rep. Don Ruzicka, R-Mount Vernon, is among 26 legislators co-sponsoring a bill to exempt military retirement pensions from state income taxes."(Springfield News-Leader)

[Guidance Overview] 401(k), Pension, and Welfare Plans: 2008 Year-End Compliance Matters (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt:"With the year rapidly coming to an end, it is timely for retirement and welfare plan sponsors to consider updating their plans to reflect recent changes in applicable law. This alert provides information about four developments from 2008 that should now be on the radar screen for plan sponsors. (1) Code Section 415; [(2) Proposed Section 125 (Cafeteria Plan) Regulations; (3) Mental Health Parity; (4) The HEART Act.]"(Paul, Hastings, Janofsky&Walker LLP)

[Guidance Overview] Final Rule Adopting New FMLA Regulations
Excerpt:"On November 17, 2008, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its Final Rule updating regulations regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This marks the first change to FMLA regulations since previous regulations went into effect in April 1995. The revised regulations address the new military leave entitlements under the FMLA and implement a number of other changes to the way that FMLA leave is administered. The new Final Rule will take effect January 16, 2009."(Briggs and Morgan PA)

Military Retirement: Background and Recent Developments (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt:"There are three separate and distinct but related retirement systems within DOD: one for active duty members, one for the Reserve Components, and one for those who become disabled and are generally unable to complete a normal 20-year military career due to their physical disability."(U.S. Congressional Research Service)