15 Golan Christie Taglia attorneys were named to 2023 Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists, five of whom celebrate being selected to the list for the first time.

In the Illinois First District Appellate Court, Caren A. Lederer and Katherine M. Oswald recently obtained an opinion clarifying the application and standards for enforcing no-contest clauses in a trust agreement.

Katherine M. Oswald and Nichole M. F. Siedlarczyk have been elected by firm leadership as Partners at GCT in 2022.

By now, we are sure that you are aware of the considerable discussion in the media about Congress wanting to in large part revise a number of favorable tax laws. Congress has recently taken steps to make changes a reality through a new and pressing series of proposed tax law changes with the “Build Back Better Act” (the “Act”) that is making its way through the legislative process in Washington, D.C. New tax laws might be enacted, if at all, as early as mid-November but possibly by late December.

The period provided for COBRA premium waivers under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) has begun. This six-month period began on April 1, 2021, and runs through September 30, 2021. Action by employers and their COBRA service providers is required by May 31 – and it may make sense to take action as soon as May 1.

The recently adopted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes in its $1.9 trillion of relief spending reimbursement of the premium cost of COBRA continuation coverage for employees and their covered family members who lose their group coverage as a result of an involuntary termination of their employment or a reduced number of employment hours.

Golan Christie Taglia is delighted to announce the inclusion of 16 firm attorneys to the 2021 Leading and Emerging Lawyers lists for their outstanding work in a wide range of areas including Closely & Privately Held Business Law, Commercial Litigation, Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial and more.

The CARES Act provides a number of optional coronavirus-related relief provisions that employers may choose to incorporate into their 401(k) and other retirement plans.

COVID-19 relief provisions that allow 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors to reduce or suspend safe harbor contributions expire soon. Plans must be amended by August 31, 2020 in accordance with the relief guidelines provided by IRS Notice 2020-52.

Former participants in a 401(k) profit sharing plan recently filed suit in Federal court in New Jersey seeking recovery of investment losses allocated to their accounts by the employer-sponsor. This mid-year valuation reduced the account balances available for distribution to the former participants.

Last Friday's guidance in IRS Notice 2020-50 expands the definition of "Qualified Individuals" entitled to retirement plan relief under the CARES Act and verifies that employer implementation of the relief rules is not required.

Certain retirement plan distribution and participant loan applications require a spousal consent to be signed by the participant's spouse. The consent serves as a protection of spousal rights in plans that otherwise provide for benefit distributions in the form of an annuity that includes a survivor annuity for the spouse (a "qualified joint and survivor annuity").

Recent IRS Notice 2020-29 provides additional options to allow mid-year changes in participant cafeteria plan elections. The additional relief from prior cafeteria plan election rules is intended to help employees adapt to changes in their personal circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

IRS and Department of Labor joint rules effective May 4, 2020 created a new COBRA universe by extending both group health plan deadlines for providing COBRA election notices and employee deadlines for electing COBRA continuation coverage — and paying for it. These deadlines are extended for the entire "Outbreak Period," which started March 1, 2020 and ends 60 days after the officially declared end of the COVID-19 national emergency.

The relief provisions of the CARES Act generally benefit coronavirus-impacted participants with accelerated retirement plan benefit payments and participant loan extensions. But what actions can employers take to relieve financial stress by reducing the cost of retirement plan benefits?

For purposes of the 401(k) and retirement plan relief provisions of the CARES Act, employers will be dealing with a new category of employee, the coronavirus impacted participant, or "CIP" for short.

As of Thursday, April 16, 2020, the nearly $350 billion allocated to fund the Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”, previously discussed in detail here) had been entirely committed. According to the American Bar Association, the Small Business Administration is no longer taking applications, and will not allow new applications to be placed in a queue.

While we are following Governor Pritzker’s order to stay at home, our firm is still working. Because we have received many questions in the last few weeks, we want to reach out to you to provide a few reminders and tips.

Employers who are faced with difficult decisions on reductions in their workforce need to consider group health coverage issues. Are employees on furlough, a leave of absence, or working reduced hours eligible for continued group health coverage for themselves and their families?

On March 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) into law. The law contains a number of provisions that deal directly with retirement plan benefits.

On March 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) into law. The law includes significant aid for small businesses and individuals affected by the novel coronavirus and the surrounding economic consequences.

On March 26, 2020, Illinois Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-14. In response to the risk of in-person contact necessary in the notarization and witnessing of documents, the Executive Order allows notaries and witnesses to carry out their respective duties through video-conferencing.

The financial stress of the coronavirus pandemic is impacting many businesses and their employees. In this environment, employers in particular may need to review their 401(k) plans and consider the planning opportunities that may be available to them.

In Notice 2020-18, the Internal Revenue Service announced Federal income tax return filing and payment relief by moving the due date for filing certain returns and paying the related taxes from April 15 to July 15. The Service has released an FAQ that offers guidance as to which tax returns (and their related payments) are eligible for this relief, which may be accessed here.

On Tuesday, March 17, 2020, Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, speaking at a coronavirus news conference, announced that the government will be deferring required 2019 income tax payments for 90 days, penalty-free.