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Virginia McGarrity is a member in the firm's Employee Benefits and Compensation Group whose practice addresses a broad array of issues relating to the design, drafting, and operation of qualified and nonqualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, including 401(k), profit-sharing, employee stock ownership and Section 403(b), and Section 457(b) plans of tax-exempt organizations and governmental entities. Virginia counsels clients on a wide range of health and welfare benefits matters, including issues related to health care reform, cafeteria plans, health savings accounts, voluntary employee beneficiary associations, and other employee benefits arrangements. She also assists clients with compliance matters involving federal laws such as COBRA and HIPAA, as well as various state laws and regulations governing health and welfare plan design and administration, domestic partner coverage, continuation of coverage, and mandated benefits. Read her full rc.com bio here.

Covered entities, including employer sponsored health plans, should brace for audits and enforcement of the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification rules by the Department of Health & Human Service Office of Civil Rights (OCR) following OCR’s recent announcement of a large HIPAA settlement last month on the heels of its release of the preliminary results

With open enrollment in full swing for many employers, now is a good time to review employee benefit communications. Plan sponsors of health plans are generally responsible for properly administering all of the health plan notices required by law, including HIPAA. To ease the administrative burden and to cut costs, these notices can, and often

In the wake of several recent high-profile security breaches, employers are increasingly viewing identity theft protection as an essential employee benefit for employees. According to Willis Towers Watson’s 2016 voluntary benefits and services (VBS) survey, identity theft protection, offered by 35 percent of employers in 2015, could double to nearly 70 percent by 2018. Recognizing the changing needs of the workforce, employer-provided identity theft protection typically includes some form of coverage for financial losses (which can include lost wages) as well as case management services for victims of identity theft. 
Continue Reading Federal Tax Treatment of Employer-Provided Identity Protection Services

Now more than ever, workplace wellness programs are becoming increasingly popular among employers. A common concern many employers have is how to design a meaningful workplace program intended to improve the health of participating employees while complying with HIPAA’s privacy and security rules. Although employers are not covered entities, HIPAA may apply to an employer’s

Most employers are generally aware of their fiduciary status as a “plan sponsor” of an ERISA-governed retirement plan (e.g., 401(k) and 403(b) plans). In fact, the employer’s hiring of a service provider is in and of itself a fiduciary function for which the plan sponsor is liable and at risk for any imprudent selection made.

The Anthem and Premera Blue Cross data breaches caused widespread panic throughout the employer health plan community earlier this year. For many, these data breach announcements served as a wakeup call for employer health plan sponsors to review and further refine their business associate contracts.

As a health plan sponsor, the employer is responsible for