On February 18, 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with new criteria for establishing the "reasonable factors other than age" defense for employers facing employee age discrimination claims.

DOL Issues Model Notice on Premium Aid Under CHIP or Medicaid
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a model notice to meet the requirement to inform employees of opportunities for group health plan premium assistance under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in their state of residence.  The model Employer CHIP Notice was published in the Feb. 4, 2010, issue of the Federal Register. A text version (MS-Word) is available here.

The CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) requires employers offering group health plans to notify employees of their potential rights to receive premium assistance under a state's Medicaid or CHIP program. Employers may combine this notice with other information (e.g., open enrollment materials). The requirement applies to employers with employees that reside in any of 40 states that provide premium assistance.

As of Jan. 22, 2010, the following states offer one or more programs that meet this standard: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Accordingly, if a group health plan provides benefits for medical care directly or through insurance to participants, beneficiaries or providers in one of these states, the plan is required to provide the Employer CHIP Notice, regardless of the employer's location or principal place of business (or the location or principal place of business of the group health plan).

For example, if an employer in the District of Columbia sponsors a group health plan that provides reimbursement for medical care to plan participants or beneficiaries residing in the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania, the plan is considered maintained in all six states. Because at least one of these states offers a premium assistance program, the employer is subject to the Employer CHIP Notice requirement.

On March 2, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 4691, the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 by a vote of 78-19.  This Senate action follows House passage of H.R. 4691 on February 25, 2010.  The President immediately signed this bill into law on March 2, 2010.

The Temporary Extension Act extends the COBRA subsidy program that was enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and extends unemployment benefits through April 5, 2010.

The law's COBRA provisions extend the eligibility period for the 15-month 65 percent premium subsidy to those involuntarily terminated from March 1 through March 31, 2010 and allows employees to receive the subsidy if they first lost group coverage due to a reduction in hours and then were terminated after enactment of the bill.

Effective January 26, 2010, the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a ban on texting by drivers of commercial vehicles. The prohibition applies to interstate truck drivers and commercial bus and van drivers who carry more than eight passengers.