VEChannel Event Profile

COBRA: How to Comply with the New Notification Rules (BLR Audio Conference)

For the first time since 1986, the U.S. Department of Labor has changed the requirements for the COBRA notifications you must give your employees. And the deadline for compliance with the new rules is approaching fast. The consequences for not giving notice in accordance with COBRA rules can be steep, including having to pay an employees uncovered medical bills, attorneys fees, and penalties. Consider this recent example: In May, a federal judge fined an employer $307,000 for failing to provide an exemployee with the proper COBRA notice. The court assessed the maximum statutory penalty of $110 per day for each beneficiarythe employee and his wifeas well as their actual medical expenses. And the employer may STILL get hit with attorneys fees and court costs. Dont let this happen to you! Join us on Thursday, Nov. 4 for a 90minute audio conference. Theres no faster, better way to get uptodate on the new rules! YOULL LEARN: What the final rules requireand the deadline for compliance How to get your COBRA notification forms and procedures up to speed Which notices youre required to give to employeesand when How to recognize a "qualifying event" How to establish "reasonable" notice procedures, as required by the final rules The special notice requirements that come into play if COBRA coverage is unavailable or terminates early Why you need to take another look at your Summary Plan Description How to modify the model notices to fit your specific needs ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS: BRUCE BARTH, Esq. is cochair of the Labor, Employment, and Benefits Group and head of the Employee Benefits and Compensation Group at Robinson & Cole in Hartford, Connecticut. His practice focuses on the representation of employers and executives with respect to retirement and welfare benefits and cash and noncash compensation, including equitybased compensation. Mr. Barth advises clients on the implications of tax, securities, labor, and other laws, including ERISA, HIPAAs privacy standards, and the SarbanesOxley Act. He earned his B.S. in accounting, magna cum laude, from the University of Connecticut, and his J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University National Law Center. He also earned a master of laws in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. ROBERTA KAREN CHEVLOWE, Esq. is Senior Counsel in the Labor and Employment Law Department at Proskauer Rose in New York. She practices in the field of employee benefits law and regularly counsels clients on a variety of issues relating to the establishment, administration, and continued legal compliance of pension, health and other benefit plans, including ERISAs reporting and disclosure requirements and fiduciary duty provisions; plan qualification issues under the Internal Revenue Code; and the requirements imposed by numerous other federal and state laws affecting employee benefits. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, and her B.A., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany. JOEL "BUDDY" DANIEL, Esq. is a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins in Greenville, South Carolina. He has extensive legal and professional experience in the areas of employee benefits and related taxation matters. His practice includes representation in the areas of qualified retirement plans, welfare benefit plans, fringe benefit plans, multiemployer plans, executive compensation and international compensation. Mr. Daniel also represents clients in employee benefits claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). He has been certified as a specialist in taxation law by the South Carolina Supreme Court, and he is a Certified Public Accountant. He earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina and his B.S. from the College of Charleston.

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