The Dorsey Benefits & Compensation Group conducted its first annual forum on a variety of issues affecting employer sponsored health and welfare benefits. Sessions focused on practical advice and guidance. Liz Deckman served as the moderator.

**NOTE: Watching this recording does not allow the user to obtain CLE, CPD, CPE or HR credits.

The Gig is Up: Taxes, ACA Penalties, and Employment Law Risks of Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employer Status for Leased Employees
Rebecca J. Bernhard and Tim Goodman, Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Affordable Care Act, recent Department of Labor guidance, and key NLRB decisions have greatly increased employer risks related to misclassification of workers as independent contractors, the use of leased employees, and the creation of joint employer status.  Misclassification can result in huge penalties under the ACA, significant income and employment tax penalties and risks, and weighty employment obligations.  At the same time, federal and state agencies are dedicating additional investigators and time to review misclassification claims, in part because when workers are classified as employees then employers withhold income and employment taxes.  This session explains employer liabilities and risks, and explores how to improve worker classification decisions.

What Should Your Plan Documents and SPDs Say?
Andrew Holly and Bob Seng, Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Good plan documents and summary plan descriptions should arm plan sponsors with appropriate legal protection, draw a roadmap for governance and, in a perfect world, build a platform for employee communications of all kinds (web-based, digital, video, brochures). Andrew Holly and Bob Seng will give an overview of the legal requirements and the legal “must haves” followed by an interactive discussion of what’s happening in the plan communication space. 

Don’t Be a HIPAAchondriac: Prepare for Phase 2 HIPAA Audits
Melinda Maher and Holly Fistler, Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Now that the first wave of ACA reporting is almost complete, it’s time for plan sponsors to revisit HIPAA compliance in 2016.  With the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launching Phase 2 of the HIPAA Audit Program, and with recent PHI breaches generating significant monetary penalties for plan sponsors, now is the perfect time to give Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules compliance a thorough check-up.  In this session, geared towards group health plan sponsors, Melinda Maher and Holly Fistler will provide an overview of the HIPAA Audit Program, documents and procedures necessary to show a clean bill of HIPAA health, and mitigating risks to PHI in an increasingly mobile and electronic workplace.