Compliance Corner: Nondiscrimination Rules for Health and Welfare Plans
Employers that sponsor health and welfare benefits for their employees must consider whether their cost structures and benefit designs meet the various nondiscrimination requirements that apply to health and welfare plans under federal law, particularly in situations where benefits and/or cost structures vary for different groups of employees. Unlike the nondiscrimination rules that apply to retirement plans, the nondiscrimination rules for group health and welfare plans can, at times, be ambiguous and subject to disparate interpretations . In this Compliance Corner article, we will provide a high-level overview of the various nondiscrimination rules that can apply to health and welfare plans, and we will discuss some of the unsettled ambiguities in the nondiscrimination rules under Sections 125 and 105(h) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) . Employment-Based Discrimination Rules (Title VII, GINA, ADA, ADEA) Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), employ...