Employment

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By Jill Ripke, Lauren Kulpa, and Brittany Sachs

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which among other things, required private employers with fewer than 500 full-time and part-time employees as well as most public employers to provide paid leave for COVID-19 related absences beginning on April 1, 2020. The FFCRA also provided tax credits to help offset the paid leave wages required to be paid under the FFCRA. The paid leave provisions (and tax credits) of the FFCRA were set to expire on December 31, 2020.…
Continue Reading Paid Leave Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Ends on December 31, 2020, but Tax Credits Extend Through March 31, 2021

By Jill Ripke and Matt Goldberg

On December 14, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order N-84-20 addressing the COVID-19 pandemic including, but not limited, to updating the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) emergency regulations, which went into effect November 30, 2020. The Executive Order modified the emergency regulations so that they incorporate the new California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) COVID-19 Quarantine Guidance, specifically stating that the exclusion periods in Sections 3205(c)(10) and (11) are suspended to the extent that they exceed the longer of the applicable quarantine or isolation period recommended by CDPH.…
Continue Reading California’s New Executive Order and COVID-19 Quarantine Guidance

By Maggie Hayes and Cris Jones

The IRS has issued its annual employee benefit plan limitations for 2021. Key changes, also highlighted in the chart below, include the following:

  • Code Section 415(c) maximum annual additions increased from $57,000 to $58,000.
  • Compensation limit under Code Section 401(a)(17) increased from $285,00 to $290,000.
  • HDHP Out of Pocket Maximum increased from $6,900 to $7,000 for self-only coverage and from $13,800 to $14,000 for family coverage.
  • HSA Maximum Contribution Limit increased from $3,550 to $3,600 for self-only coverage and from $7,100 to $7,200 for family coverage.
  • All adoption assistance limits and thresholds have increased.
  • All QSEHRA and Archer MSA limits increased.

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Continue Reading 2021 IRS Annual Employee Benefit Plan Limit Updates

By Heather Sager, Jill Ripke, Brittany Sachs, Matt Goldberg

As described here, on November 19, 2020, Cal/OSHA voted to implement sweeping new temporary emergency COVID-19 regulations. These emergency regulations are now in effect as they were approved by the Office of Administrative Law. Cal/OSHA has now provided additional guidance for employers,…