Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are a powerful tool for ownership transition, offering tax advantages, liquidity for shareholders, and a path to employee ownership. At the same time, ESOP transactions are fiduciary transactions governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and subject to close regulatory scrutiny. An ...
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) increased the annual dependent care FSA contribution limit from $5,000 to $7,500 (or $3,750 for married individuals filing separately). This amount has not been increased in 25 years, and anyone with kids in daycare knows that $5,000 doesn’t go very far today. While this is a welcome update for many ...
By: Lyndsey Barnett and Michaela Taylor*
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has handed down their latest action against a medical center in Oklahoma for violations of HIPAA’s privacy, security, and breach notification rules. The health center will now pay $875,000 in fines to resolve a ...
By: Lyndsey Barnett and Michaela Taylor*
On June 21, 2022, the Sixth Circuit in Smith v. CommonSpirit Health provided updated guidance for plan sponsors in excessive 401(k) fee complaint cases. In their opinion, which affirmed a September 2021 decision from the Eastern District of Kentucky, the court held that whether an ERISA excessive fee claim ...