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Compliance March 19, 2009
DoL Announces Model Notices for New COBRA Subsidy
March 19, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S.
Department of Labor has released model notices Secretary of
Labor Hilda L. Solis says will "enable employers to quickly
spell out for former employees and their families how to take
advantage of COBRA coverage and the subsidy."
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides a 65% federal COBRA premium subsidy for nine months for employees who are laid off between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009 (see H.R. 1 Contains COBRA Provisions ).
The DoL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration previously made available documents in both English and Spanish explaining the new rules to employers and employees (see EBSA Provides COBRA Subsidy Publications ). Information on how employers will get reimbursement of the COBRA subsidy is on the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site (see IRS Posts Added Info about Employer COBRA Tax Break ).
The COBRA subsidy, along with other economic proposals, will have practical implications for employer payrolls (see Stimulus Provisions Mean Payroll Considerationsand Employers Must Act Now to Comply with New COBRA Law ).
The DoL model notices can be found on www.dol.gov/COBRA .