Plans, Perks & Pay | Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog

The federal agencies charged with administering the Affordable Care Act released interim final regulations Oct. 6, 2017, that extended the exemption from providing contraceptive coverage to more employers and individuals effective immediately. Days later, the government settled dozens of lawsuits filed by organizations challenging the so-called “contraceptive mandate.” But several new cases challenging the expanded exemption were filed.

Businesses with a large number of union employees can often feel trapped in union-sponsored pension plans. This is because “withdrawal liability” — i.e., the employer’s share of an underfunded multiemployer pension plan’s liabilities — can be huge, easily in the tens of millions of dollars. However, as explained below, there is an exemption that employers in the building and construction industry can rely on to avoid withdrawal liability.