News & Commentary

On March 26, 2020, the IRS announced that the amounts you paid to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect against the spread of COVID-19, such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes are eligible to be deducted as medical expenses on your 2020 tax return. The IRS advises that taxpayers may be eligible…

If you are an essential worker, first responder, or healthcare worker, you may be eligible for New York State’s Empire Pandemic Response Reimbursement Fund. Announced on March 6, 2021, the Fund was designed to help eligible essential workers who responded to the public health emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic and are in financial need. Up…

In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law an economic stimulus bill called the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”). The law includes a special federal tax break for workers who received unemployment benefits in 2020: the first $10,200 ($20,400 if married and filing jointly) of unemployment compensation is not taxable. This benefit applies to…

If you are considering purchasing health coverage (perhaps using your $1400 stimulus payment) but haven’t yet, you still have time. In addition, that coverage might be less expensive. The 2021 Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period to buy health coverage on the health insurance marketplace (also known as the exchanges) ended December 15, 2020….

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) brings welcome news to multiemployer, union-sponsored defined benefit plans that have become insolvent or are in danger of becoming insolvent. See LR’s What You Need to Know Now here, which discussed the COBRA subsidy provisions of the ARPA. A defined benefit plan is the traditional form of…

On Friday, March 12, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill (S.2588A/A.3354B) that allows public and private New York employees to take paid time off to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Employees are permitted take up to four hours of leave per injection, meaning an employee who receives a vaccine that requires two doses…

Did you lose your job during the pandemic and previously had employer-sponsored health coverage? Well, paying for continued health coverage through COBRA is about to become affordable for workers, but only temporarily. Under COBRA, workers who lose job-based health coverage because of termination of employment (other than for gross misconduct) or reduction in hours, may…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers have made the difficult choice not to return to an unsafe workplace or to decline a new offer of unsafe work to avoid the risk of catching the virus. On February 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released guidance announcing that individuals in these situations, in addition…

Earlier What You Need To Know Now postings here and here explained that, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES Act, health plans are required to cover the cost of COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccination without any cost sharing (co-pays, deductibles, coinsurance).  On February 26, 2021, in accordance with President Biden’s COVID-19 Executive…

On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released new guidance on best practices to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. This guidance follows President Biden’s January 21, 2021 Executive Order calling for OSHA to issue new COVID-19-related workplace safety guidance. Looking ahead, the EO also called for…