Legal/Compliance Roundup - April 2024

‍Each month, Mployer Advisor collects and presents some of the most relevant and most pressing recent changes in law, compliance, and policy in areas related to employee benefits, health care, and human resources. 

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2023 EEO-1 Component 1 Submissions Due Date Set

Collection of EE0-1 Component 1 data will open on April 30, 2024 - with a final deadline for EEO-1 Component 1 submissions currently set for June 4, 2024.

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Check the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) website for updates as well as an instruction booklet and file submission specifications, which the EEOC expects to have posted by March 19, 2024. 

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This filing must be submitted by every company that has 100 or more employees across all locations and/or is affiliated with a company that has 100 or more employees through common ownership or centralized management. 

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Further, this filing must also be submitted by any company with 50 employees or more that has a contract with the federal government worth at least $50,000 or has an establishment that holds a federal contract worth at least $50,000. 

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Companies or establishments thereof that are federal contractors and serve as depositories of federal funds no matter how much or how little, as well as financial entities that are issuing and paying agents for US Savings Bonds and Savings notes must also submit this form. 

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Updates regarding the timely, etc. will be posted here on the EEO-1 website.

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New Notice Requirements For (Re-)Enrolling Certain Policies

A new federal rule addressing short-term limited duration insurance and independent non-coordinated benefits like fixed indemnity and specific-disease or illness policies was published on April 3, 2024. 

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The new rule is the result of a joint effort between several federal agencies and includes a requirement that the first page of any materials marketing application enrollment and re-enrollment must include notice to potential and current policyholders that the policy does not provide comprehensive benefits. 

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This notice requirement takes effect for applicable policies issued or renewed after January 1, 2025. 

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You can find that new rule here. 

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Supreme Court Sides With Employee In Title VII Discrimination Interpretation

The case at issue involved a male employee replacing a female employee who was transferred to a new department where her pay and title remained the same but her scope of duties, schedule, and some job perks did not.

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The Court held that a job transfer did not need to have caused ‘significant’ harm to an employee in order for the employer to have violated Title VII.

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A customizable example notice is provided in the rule as well to assist employers with compliance, although regulators intend to supplement that example with a template notice that would require no customization on the part of employers in order to satisfy the rule. 

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Federal Prescription Data Reporting Updates

RxDC reports for calendar year 2023 are due June 3, 2024 in accordance with the Title II, Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

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While this information is usually submitted by carriers, pharmacy benefits managers, and third party admins - these entities will often need to seek out information directly from employers and can be expected to do so as the submission deadline approaches.

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Some of the noteworthy updates to this year’s submission instructions include:

• Clarification that nutritional supplements,over-the-counter medication, and medical devices are not to be included on lists of prescription drugs;
• Simplification of the total monthly premium calculation, now computed by dividing the total annual premium by twelve;
• Simplification of premiums calculation accounting for paid claims instead of incurred claims;
• Addition of a new column to input enrollment data; and
• Instructions on how to submit large data files that exceed the maximum allowable limit, as well as updated instructions on how to input various other data;

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Click here for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2023 instruction guide for RxDC submissions.

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Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Update

The final regulations in support of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) have been published and go into effect on June 18, 2024.

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Some of the accommodations that the final rule presumes to be reasonable absent an especially significant justification for denying the accommodation, including allowing pregnant employees to: 

• Take breaks to eat and drink;
• Keep water nearby;
• Use the restroom as needed; and
• Sit or stand as needed

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The rule also places a number of limitations for when employers can require supporting documentation in order for employees to request or receive accommodations under the rule, allowing employers to request such documentation only when it is reasonable under the circumstances.

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The final rule also requires accommodations for medical appointments, and defines certain terms broadly enough to require accommodations for medical care involving fertility, contraception, and situations when pregnancies abruptly end whether willfully or not. 

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You can find the final rule here.