Mirick O'Connell Employment Law e-Alert

View as Webpage

Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Legal Update

SPOTLIGHT ATTORNEYS

Ashlyn E. Dowd

Jonathan R. Sigel, Chair

LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS GROUP

ATTORNEYS

Jonathan Sigel, Chair

PARALEGALS

On Air with Mirick O'Connell is a podcast featuring host Howard Caplan and the attorneys from Mirick O’Connell, a full-service law firm with offices in Worcester, Westborough and Boston, Massachusetts. Episodes provide legal perspective about local, national and international topics, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorneys discuss how the law affects you, your business and your family.

Follow Our Blog

Visit our website

DOL Publishes Model Notices for COBRA Subsidies

As we previously reported, on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) into law, which includes a COBRA premium assistance program. Pursuant to ARPA, the Department of Labor (DOL) was instructed to issue model notices regarding the six-month subsidy period, the extended election period, the alternative coverage option, and the expiration of premium assistance. On April 7, 2021, the DOL published those notices, as well as a summary and FAQs regarding the COBRA premium assistance program, all of which can be found at COBRA Premium Subsidy | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov). Employers should review this information closely.

Among other things, the FAQs clarify that an employee who experiences any reduction in hours, including via temporary leave or a change from full-time to part-time status, is eligible for the COBRA subsidies. The FAQs also make clear that the subsidy is available for group health insurance coverage under comparable state continuation coverage laws like Massachusetts mini-COBRA, which applies to employers with between 2 to 19 employees.

Employers have until May 31, 2021 to provide these notices to any employee who lost healthcare coverage because of an involuntary termination or reduction in hours on or after November 1, 2019.

If you have any questions regarding the new COBRA subsidy or any other COBRA-related issues, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of Mirick O’Connell’s Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Group.

This client alert is intended to inform you of developments in the law and to provide information of general interest. It is not intended to constitute legal advice regarding a client's specific legal issues and should not be relied upon as such. This client alert may be considered advertising under the rules of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. This client alert is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a solicitation or offer to provide products or service to any individual or entity, including to a "data subject" as that term is defined by the European Union General Data Protection Regulations. ©2021 Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, LLP. All Rights Reserved.