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With our thanks to Chris Guldberg for this post. 

The financial fallout from the outbreak of COVID-19 has unfortunately forced employers to turn to layoffs and furloughs. Many employers facing these decisions are looking for cost effective ways to mitigate the financial impact on affected employees. A supplemental unemployment benefit plan (“SUB Plan”) may be one way to assist employees while generating some cost savings for the company.

A SUB Plan is a unique type of severance benefit plan that permits employers to supplement state unemployment benefits on an employment tax-favored basis. The employer can make up the difference between an employee’s normal wages and state unemployment benefits and, unlike traditional severance, payments under a SUB Plan are treated as a benefit rather than wages and are thus not subject to FICA or FUTA for the employer or employee.

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Continue Reading An Alternative to Traditional Severance: SUB Plans

This article was originally published on Law360.com

Developed countries across the globe are increasingly adopting and augmenting paid family leave laws, seeing such laws as a “win-win” for both employers and employees. For employees, paid family leave laws allow new parents to bond with and care for their children in the stressful and crucial initial…

Not yet! 

At most, it is no longer valid in the Northern District of Texas. On December 14, 2018, a federal District Judge in Fort Worth, Texas, ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA or Obamacare) “Individual Mandate,” requiring individual taxpayers to either purchase health plan coverage containing minimum essential benefits or pay a penalty tax, was unconstitutional and invalid.

On December 30, 2018, Judge Reed O’Connor issued a stay “because many everyday Americans would otherwise face great uncertainty” during an appeal. His ruling granted the intervenor states’ request for: 1) final judgment based on his December 14 decision; and 2) a stay of that judgment. The December 30 ruling allows for an immediate appeal to the Fifth Circuit. It also means the ACA will remain in effect during the course of the appeal.

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Continue Reading Is Obamacare Over?

Multinational employers are facing a new era of globalization characterized by the polarized forces of cooperation and competition ─ a duality that makes for a messy business landscape. Our new report,  Globalization 3.0: How to survive and thrive in a new era of trade, tax and political uncertainty, aims to provide corporate leaders with…

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law bringing significant changes to US tax law. One provision of the Act may further incentivize individuals to work as independent contractors instead of as traditional employees.

The new provision allows for independent contractors, and for service providers structured as a partnership or other flow-through entities, the potential to deduct up to 20% of their revenue from their taxable income. And while some companies might view the opportunity to re-classify individuals from employees to independent contractors as a “win–win” scenario, it could create substantial legal exposure for employers.

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Continue Reading New Tax Law Could Incentivize Employees To Become Independent Contractors – Employers Should Proceed With Caution

[As reported by our Baker McKenzie Compensation colleagues]

As of December 20, 2017, both the House of Representatives and the Senate have voted to approve the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, in substantially the form released by the Conference Committee on December 15th. The bill is expected to be presented to the President for signature before Christmas, making US tax reform a reality for 2018.

What’s In? From a Compensation & Benefits perspective, among other things, the approved bill includes:

  • Significant changes to Code Section 162(m);
  • A new tax deferral regime for options and RSUs granted by private companies;
  • Elimination of exclusion for fewer than expected employer-provided fringe benefits; and
  • Increased disallowance of compensation-related deductions under Code Section 274.

What’s Out? Fortunately, the final bill does not include a Senate proposal to require the use of a first-in-first-out (FIFO) methodology when calculating capital gains on sale of shares, nor does it add back any of the changes to non-qualified deferred compensation that were proposed in the initial House version of the bill. Also, most of the changes proposed to qualified retirement plans have been eliminated.

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Continue Reading Breaking News! Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Expected To Come Into Effect In 2018

Narendra Acharya, a Partner our Chicago office, answers the question and explains why companies rely on them in their global employee mobility programs.

Moving employees across borders quickly and within budget is a formidable task considering the immigration and visa requirements, tax and social security implications, data privacy mandates, employment rules, stock benefits and…