Employers – Check Your Severance Arrangements Now!

If employees are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a timely negative COVID-19 test, and/or wear a mask as a condition of employment (COVID-19 Policies), and an employee is terminated for violating a COVID-19 Policy, will that employee be entitled to severance benefits?

The answer depends on what the employer intends and the terms of the applicable severance arrangement which, for example, can be in the form of a severance plan, a severance agreement, or an employment agreement.

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Revised IRS Correction Procedures (EPCRS) Include Helpful Changes

On July 16, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published an updated version of its correction procedures for qualified retirement plans, Revenue Procedure 2021-30, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”).

The revisions to EPCRS include a number of changes that are intended to help simplify and provide additional flexibility for correcting certain retirement plan failures. Below is a summary of the major changes:

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ERISA Litigation Roundup: Northern District of Illinois Dismisses ERISA Stock-Drop Suit

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed an ERISA stock-drop lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Kraft Heinz Food Company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), holding that the plaintiffs failed to meet the “more harm than good” pleading standard set forth in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, 573 U.S. 409, 428 (2014). Osborne v. Emp. Benefits Admin. Bd. of Kraft Heinz, No. 20-cv-2256, 2021 WL 3725613 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 23, 2021).

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Forced Rollovers of Small Retirement Account Balances: What to Do with Missing Participants

When a participant experiences a distribution event (e.g., terminating service with the employer), and when the participant does not affirmatively elect to take the distribution, a plan document may require that an account balance of $5,000 or less be distributed immediately, and without the participant’s consent, by rolling the account over to an IRA. This is sometimes called a “forced rollover.” When making a forced rollover, a plan must comply with the applicable plan provisions and related Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and Department of Labor (“DOL”) guidance.

A forced rollover can only be made if a participant’s vested account balance is $5,000 or less. If a participant’s vested account balance is greater than $5,000, the account cannot be distributed without participant consent (unless the participant has attained the later of normal retirement age or age 62). The only exception to that limit is for terminating defined contribution plans. Additionally, although the Code does not require a forced rollover for distributions of $1,000 or less (where a “forced” distribution can be used in lieu of a rollover), the plan document can require that mandatory distributions of $1,000 or less be rolled over to an IRA.

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