Welcome to Compliance Friday Answers to the Service Team (FAST)! Each Friday we publish our response to a question that the ABD Compliance Team received from a client or member of the EB Service Team. These represent the most frequently asked (or interesting) questions we see.
We post all of our FAST responses on the ABD Blog site (https://theabdteam.com/blog/). The titles below link directly to each post, and here is the list for you to download also: PDF: FAST List by Category (Updated Q3 2018) .
We hope you enjoy this collection of our FAST responses!
| Date | Title |
| ACA | |
| September 21, 2018 | MLR Rebates |
| June 1, 2018 | Leave Rules under the ACA Look-Back Measurement Method |
| April 7, 2018 | Opt-out Credits for Temps/Interns |
| March 30, 2018 | Automatic Enrollment into Medical Plan |
| December 15, 2017 | Part-Time to Full-Time Employees: When to Offer Coverage? |
| December 1, 2017 | ACA Form W-2 Cost of Coverage Reporting |
| October 20, 2017 | ACA Pay or Play Rules Applicability to Independent Contractors |
| September 22, 2017 | New Hire Bona Fide Orientation Period Interaction with ACA Pay or Play |
| May 12, 2017 | How the ACA Employer Mandate Pay or Play Rules Apply to Summer Interns |
| COBRA | |
| September 28, 2018 | Failure to Timely Provide COBRA Election Notice |
| June 22, 2018 | COBRA Disability Extension |
| May 18, 2018 | Legal Separation vs. Divorce |
| August 18, 2017 | COBRA Initial Notice Requirements |
| August 4, 2017 | COBRA Merger and Acquisition Rules for Stock and Asset Deals |
| July 28, 2017 | No Special Enrollment in Group Health Plan after COBRA Subsidy Ends |
| July 21, 2017 | Health Plan Consequences of Late Employee Divorce Notification |
| July 7, 2017 | Best Practices for COBRA Subsidies and COBRA Reimbursement Practices |
| June 23, 2017 | Terminated Employees not Terminated from Coverage |
| June 16, 2017 | Removal of Spouse from Health Plan in Anticipation of Divorce |
| April 14, 2017 | USERRA Continuation Coverage and Heart Act FSA Distributions for Reservists |
| Domestic Partners | |
| July 13, 2018 | Tax Consequences of Domestic Partner Health Coverage |
| ERISA | |
| May 18, 2018 | Legal Separation vs. Divorce |
| January 26, 2018 | ERISA Preemption of State Court Orders |
| January 12, 2018 | Distribution Timing Rules For SPDs and SMMs |
| November 3, 2017 | Record Retention Best Practices for Employee Benefit Records |
| October 27, 2017 | Spousal Surcharges and Incentives for Spouses Not to Participate |
| October 13, 2017 | ERISA Electronic Disclosure Rules |
| April 7, 2017 | Why Parents Not Eligible for Group Health Coverage |
| Fringe Benefits | |
| July 20, 2018 | Monthly Commuter Benefit Election Changes |
| May 4, 2018 | Tuition Reimbursement Programs |
| March 23, 2018 | Final Paycheck Issues |
| March 10, 2018 | Uber and Lyft Qualification for Commuter Benefits |
| February 2, 2018 | Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program |
| November 10, 2017 | Tax-Free Bicycle Commuting Expense Reimbursement (Eliminated by TCJA) |
| April 28, 2017 | Required Forfeiture of Commuter Benefits after Termination from Employment |
| HIPAA | |
| September 14, 2018 | Documenting Prior Coverage after HIPAA Certs |
| July 6, 2018 | HIPAA Privacy and Private Workspaces |
| January 19, 2018 | HIPAA Special Enrollment Events |
| HRAs | |
| August 25, 2017 | Infertility HRA Considerations |
| HSAs | |
| August 31, 2018 | HSAs for Veterans |
| August 24, 2018 | Excess HSA Contributions |
| August 17, 2018 | Employee HSA Front Loading |
| August 10, 2018 | Employer HSA Contributions During Protected Leave |
| August 3, 2018 | Employee Fails to Establish HSA |
| June 15, 2018 | HSA Limit for Partial-Year Family Coverage |
| April 13, 2018 | Prior – Year HSA Contribution by Tax Deadline |
| March 16, 2018 | HSA Eligibility and New State Male Contraception Mandates |
| January 5, 2018 | HSA Nondiscrimination Rules (Section 125 or Comparability) |
| September 15, 2017 | HSA Contribution Timing Requirements |
| March 24, 2017 | How HSA Eligibility is Affected by an Employee’s or Spouse’s Health FSA |
| March 17, 2017 | The HSA Last Month (Full Contribution) Rule for Mid-Year HDHP Enrollment |
| Leaves & PTO | |
| May 26, 2017 | Health Benefits During Protected and Non-Protected Leaves of Absence |
| April 21, 2017 | Unlimited PTO Policy Interaction with Disability Benefits |
| Medicare | |
| September 1, 2017 | Medicare Considerations for Retiring Employees |
| August 11, 2017 | MSP Prohibition of Incentives for Active Employees to Enroll in Medicare |
| MEWAs | |
| June 9, 2017 | Proceed with Caution Before Considering Board Member Health Plan Eligibility |
| Qualified Support Orders | |
| May 5, 2017 | Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO) Enrollment Rules and Timing |
| Section 125 | Health FSAs |
| June 29, 2018 | Limited Purpose Health FSA Preventive Expenses |
| March 23, 2018 | Final Paycheck Issues |
| February 23, 2018 | No FSA Contributions from Bonus Payments |
| February 16, 2018 | S Corporation Owners |
| September 8, 2017 | Health FSA $2,600 Limit ($2,650 in 2018) for Mid-Year Hires and Short Plan Years |
| March 31, 2017 | Merger and Acquisition Options for the Seller’s Health FSA |
| March 10, 2017 | What Happens to an Employee’s Health FSA Upon Termination from Employment |
| Section 125 | Dependent Care FSAs |
| June 8, 2018 | Missing the Dependent Care FSA Run-Out Period |
| March 3, 2018 | Dependent Care Spend Down Provision |
| February 9, 2018 | Only HCEs Participating in the Dependent Care FSA |
| December 22, 2017 | Dependent Care FSA for Part-time Work |
| November 17, 2017 | Failing the Dependent Care FSA 55% Average Benefits Test |
| September 29, 2017 | Dependent Care FSA Contributions in Excess of $5,000 |
| June 2, 2017 | The Section 125 “Doctrine of Mistake” for Mistaken Cafeteria Plan Elections |
State and Local Laws
| May 25, 2018 | Hawaii Health Plan Requirements for Employers |
