Two lawyers who specialize in employee benefits present a comprehensive guide to the federal regulations concerning all types of employee benefit plans and programs. Under social and legal benefits, chapters discuss antidiscrimination laws, tax considerations, and new legislation. The plan types discussed include enterprise-ownership, deferred compensation, and health and life insurance. Also notes special topics such as collective bargained plans, government contractors, and social security. Includes 30 pages of tables. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Employee Benefits Law is complex and often misunderstood. This article explains the regulatory systems developed by Congress over nearly a century. Initially Congress created tax preferences to encourage employers to offer retirement and healthcare benefits to employees. Several decades later, Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), providing substantive regulation under labor law and tax law. Since ERISA, there have been about three dozen public laws which have changed the systems. Not surprisingly, confusion has accompanied the regular modifications to a very technical area of law. Nevertheless, the multitude of laws can be simplified. This is possible with an understanding of how the parts combine to form cohesive regulatory systems. In short, Congress overlapped tax law and labor law to create the bounds of the regulatory systems for employer-provided retirement and healthcare benefits. Within these systems, two types of rules were employed: incentives and sanctions. This article explains how all of the pieces fit together to promote retirement and healthcare security, and suggests that a systematic method of analysis may be the best approach for creating the benefits law of tomorrow.

"The Handbook of Employee Benefits, Sixth Edition, features the knowledge and insights of more than 50 top benefits experts. It is filled with new and updated cases and real-world examples of benefit plan successes and failures." "The Handbook of Employee Benefits gives every organization and its HR practitioners and consultants the knowledge and tools they need to create plans that benefit the greatest number of employees, while allowing employers to maintain fiscal integrity and competitive advantage."--BOOK JACKET.

Employee Benefits Answer Book provides comprehensive guidance for thoseinvolved in the design and administration of employee benefit plans.The Q&A format is ideal for probing key topics such as:Health care reformCOBRA continuation coverageRetiree health care coverageHealth coverage portability requirementsGroup long-term care insuranceDependent care assistanceAdoption assistanceVacation and severance pay plansDeath benefitsFinancing employee benefitsFinancial accounting for employee benefitsAnd more!Employee Benefits Answer Book will help you:Set the best Health Care Reform Act strategy for your company and your clientsKeep in compliance with current and coming requirementsFind clear answers to hundreds of employee benefits questionsAvoid costly errors related to employee benefits administrationResolve employee benefits issues quickly and effectivelyAnd much more!Employee Benefits Answer Book has been updated to bring you plain-languageexplanations of the latest health care reform developments, including theseimportant topics:When a plan is a "grandfathered" plan - and how to keep it that wayWhat employers need to do to satisfy "employer responsibility" requirementsunder the Health Care Reform ActHow the Health Care Reform Act restricts preexisting-condition exclusionsWhich plans and benefits are subject to new prohibitions on annual andlifetime benefit limitsWhen a plan must cover an employee's adult childHow to comply with no-cost preventive care requirementsWhat a plan must do when denying a benefit claimWhat plans must tell employees about their benefits and coverageWhen health reimbursement arrangements can and cannot pay for over-the-counterdrugsHow small employer plans can cash in on a valuable new tax creditWhy insured plans don't need to worry about tough, new nondiscrimination rulesHow plans must handle premium rebates from their insurersWhat health plan information must be reported on employees' W-2 formsAnd much more!In addition to Health Care Reform, Employee Benefits Answer Book providesemployers and benefits professionals with extensive and up-to-date guidance onother important legal and regulatory developments during the past year,including:Important new regulations under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)Cost-sharing parity requirements for mental health and addiction benefitsExpanded FMLA coverage for military family membersNew fringe benefit rules for employer-provided cell phonesKey changes to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act(USERRA)New FMLA rules for airline flight crewsNew ground rules for employer-provided adoption assistanceImportant U.S. Supreme Court rulings on employee benefitsRevised rules for counting intermittent FMLA leaveUpdated guidance on retiree prescription drug benefits