Legislative Updates

The IRS announced that the 2024 affordability factor for group health plans will decrease to 8.39 percent which is down from 9.12 percent.  This is the lowest the affordability factor has been since the ACA was implemented.  

Read the IRS bulletin at: 26 CFR 601.105: Examination of returns and claims for refund, credit, or abatement; determination of correct tax liability. (irs.gov)

On 8/30/23, the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would extend overtime protections to workers earning less than $1,059 per week or about $55,000 per year.  The DOL will take public comments for 60 days before considering and publishing a final rule.  

Read the press release at: Department of Labor announces proposal to restore, extend overtime protections for 3.6 million low-paid salaried workers | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)

The IRS delayed part of the SECURE 2.0 law that was passed last December.  Employees and plan sponsors were originally scheduled to require earners making $145,000 or more to make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis instead of a Pre-tax basis effective 1/1/2024.  This has now been delayed until 2026 per IRS Notice 2023.62.    

On August 7th, the EEOC announced a proposed rule for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act which provides examples of possible reasonable accommodations.  The regulations will be published in the Federal Register on Friday at Federal Register :: Public Inspection: Regulations to Implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Public comment will be open for 60 days.  The regulations seek input on if there should be additional examples or situations. 

Read the proposed regulations at: 2023-17041.pdf (federalregister.gov)

On 7/25/23, Health and Human Services published a proposed rule to ensure that private health plans are complying with the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008.  The Mental Health Parity Act aims to make sure that individuals have the same access to mental health services as they do to other services on their health plans. 

The proposed rule would require insurance companies to make changes when they are providing inadequate access to mental health services, make it clear what health plans can and cannot do, and close existing loopholes.  Health plans would also have to evaluate how their plans impact the patient's access to mental health services.  

Read more at: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Treasury announce proposed rules to strengthen Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act | HHS.gov

USCIS announced that a new I-9 Form will be published on August 1, 2023 for immediate use.  Employers may continue to use the previous version of the form through October 31, 2023.  Employers will be subject to penalties if they continue using the older version after that time.  Several updates to the form have been made.  Read more at: USCIS To Publish Revised Form I-9 | USCIS.  

The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of a website designer who refused to make wedding websites for same-sex couples due to her Christian beliefs.  The US Supreme Court found that her freedom of speech rights outweighed Colorado's protections against discrimination.  The ruling is specific to businesses who sell "expressive goods."  

The US Supreme Court ruled to end affirmative action in higher education admissions practices.  Two cases were brought to the Supreme Court alleging racial discrimination in the admissions process.  The Court ruled that the higher education institutions in the cases were thought to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.  

The ruling does not directly impact employers at this time but is rather something to watch for that could impact hiring practices.  

In Groff v. DeJoy, a case where a Christian postal worker sued the US Postal Service for not accommodating his request to not work on Sundays, the court rejected that employers only need to show that the accommodation would cause them to bear more than a de minimis cost.  

Today, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that religious accommodations can only be denied by employers if they can prove it would result in substantial increased costs for the business. 

The Biden Administration has postponed plans to raise the wages of professional foreign workers in the H-1B and employment based green card categories.  The Administration indicates that they have intentions to propose reforms to the H-1B visa program by the end of the year.  

In 2021 the Trump administration issued a final rule raising wages for H-1B visa workers which was to take effect in November 2022.  However, it was stopped by a federal judge last year.