Beginning January 2, 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office is going to increase fees for certain types of filings.

Golan Christie Taglia LLP announces it selected legal technology company DISCO as its ediscovery partner.

Insolvency is defined as either having more debts than assets based on a balance sheet test or being unable to pay your debts as they come due. 

In a year marked by a global pandemic, social strife and ongoing political uncertainty, business executives and leaders need to stay focused on what matters most.

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.

Disruptions are getting in the way of business as usual. Many businesses are using this time to be creative and find new ways to reach their markets. In other words, they are undergoing Innovation Transformation. Join us for this informative Webinar where we’ll explore the Innovation Transformation of different types of businesses and how GCT helps implement and protect creative solutions.

The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced temporary flexibility for Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An alternative provision under the CARES Act provides tax relief for employers that have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A tax credit, the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), of 50 percent of up to $10,000 per employee in wages paid and related health plan expenses is available to "eligible employers."

At least two pending federal cases deal with attacks on individual 401(k) plan accounts. The fact patterns are similar: a participant submits an electronic benefit withdrawal request to the employer or the plan's record keeper. The request is passed on to the plan's custodian for implementation.

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.

We are pleased to introduce Maritess T. Bott as the newest member of the GCT team. She will be joining us as Of Counsel in the Estate Planning Practice Group.

Please join us as we congratulate attorneys Brianna L. Golan and Jonathan D. Morton, our partner promotions effective as of August 1, 2020.

To ensure confidentiality, questions can be submitted in advance and participants’ names will not be displayed.

In the summer issue of NAPA Net the Magazine, GCT’s Andrew Williams weighs in on the use of participant data for provider marketing. The article explores the risks to plan fiduciaries of investment advisors that use personal information of participants to market non-plan products, such as life insurance.

GCT has compiled seven questions we encourage you to consider as you assess your business’ recovery readiness as a part of our “GCT 360” approach.

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.

As we reported in our previous alert announcing Chicago’s new predictive scheduling measure, Chicago’s Fair Workweek Ordinance went into effect on July 1, 2020.

Illinois law now requires all employers, regardless of size, to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all Illinois employees by December 31, 2020. GCT Employment Practice Group is now offering a customized training session for your employees to help ensure that your business complies with these new requirements.

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.

PLEASE RSVP TO kkussmann@gct.law

Business interruption insurance may provide coverage for lost profits and related costs when a company is unable to continue normal business operations. Also, a mandatory order requiring a business to close to avoid the spread of COVID-19 may qualify as an order of civil authority, which may trigger coverage.