The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released draft 2022 forms for reporting under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Sections 6055 and 6056. Draft instructions for these forms have not yet been released.

President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order aimed at protecting access to reproductive health care services. This order is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and directs federal agencies to take steps to protect abortion and reproductive health services.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) generally prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants based on their genetic information.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 9.1% year over year in June 2022. This is the highest level since December 1981, surpassing last month’s record 8.6% reading and even economists’ predictions of an 8.8% CPI increase in June. Americans paid sharply higher prices for various goods in June as inflation kept its hold on the economy.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (Lifeline) launches nationwide on July 16. Similar to dialing 911 for medical emergencies, people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis can call or text 988 and be connected immediately to trained counselors who will listen, provide support and connect them to resources if necessary.

The gig economy is a system in which organizations contract directly with individuals, usually for temporary job positions, instead of relying solely on full- and part-time employees. It’s quickly becoming a key component of the world economy. According to a 2020 report from Mastercard, the gig economy generated approximately $204 billion in gross volume worldwide in 2018 and is expected to grow to $455 billion by 2023.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which allows states to regulate and prohibit abortion, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new guidance regarding HIPAA’s privacy protections for reproductive health care. The guidance focuses on health care providers’ obligation under the HIPAA Privacy Rule to safeguard the privacy of patients’ protected health information (PHI) related to reproductive health care, including abortions.

Employers are seeing an increase in lawsuits from former employees alleging deficient Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) election notices. These lawsuits are generally class actions and can result in significant attorneys’ fee awards for successful ex-employees. Understanding current COBRA notice regulations and litigation trends can help employers stay compliant and avoid costly lawsuits.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its May Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. The number of employee quits continued to fall for the second month in a row; May’s reported number of employee quits fell to around 4.3 million, down from 4.4 million in April and from a record high of 4.5 million in March.

Employers with employee benefit plans that operate on a calendar year basis must file their annual reports (Forms 5500) for 2021 with the Department of Labor (DOL) by Aug. 1, 2022. An employer may extend this deadline by two and one-half months (until Oct. 17 2022) by filing IRS Form 5558 by Aug. 1, 2022.

Health care debt is a significant issue in the United States. According to a recent report by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), over 100 million Americans have medical debt, most of which comes in the form of credit card balances, family loans or payment plans to hospitals and other medical providers.

In anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade, states have enacted various laws regarding insurance coverage of abortion. Some states have banned or restricted abortion coverage, while other states require plans to cover abortions.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 8.6% year over year in May 2022. This is the highest level since December 1981, pressuring employers to raise wages to keep pace.

The Transparency in Coverage Final Rules (TiC Final Rules) require group health plans and health insurance issuers to disclose on a public website detailed pricing information in three separate machine-readable files (MRFs).

The labor market is a bit unpredictable at the moment. Economists previously warned of a “Great Resignation,” a time when employees were expected to quit in record numbers and leave considerable vacancies in the workforce.

Employee well-being refers to the overall state of employees’ physical, mental, social and financial health, which can often be influenced by various workplace dynamics (e.g., workload, connections with co-workers and available resources).

Cyberattacks are a growing concern for employers across the globe but especially for those in the United States. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of reported U.S. data breaches rose 68% between 2020 and 2021, increasing to a record-setting 1,862 incidents.

Businesses of all sizes are currently facing attraction and retention challenges. Successful efforts to win over employees can require an investment of time and carry high costs.

The COVID-19 pandemic tipped off supply chain issues that may take years to reconcile. Due to virus disruptions, global systems that seemed fine for years quickly proved untenable as operations deteriorated. Now, employers are left wondering how they might be able to stay afloat amid unprecedented market uncertainty.

Employees are walking away from their employers in record numbers. A Prudential survey conducted toward the end of 2021 found that 46% of workers were actively seeking or considering finding a new job, and labor statistics backed those findings.