Employment Law Update

Applicable large employers who have 50 or more full-time equivalent positions are subject to Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) reporting for 2016.  (Certain small employers that sponsor self-insured health plans also have a filing requirement.) Reporting requirements are similar to last year, with some minor modifications.

The IRS announced that it has extended the due date for submitting Form 1095 required by the ACA.  Employers now have until March 2, 2017—instead of January 31, 2017—to issue individuals Form 1095-Cs reporting offers of health coverage for 2016.  The extension is automatic—employers are not required to submit a request to the IRS to obtain the extension.  There was a similar extension last year.

To date, there has been no extension of the March 31 deadline to transmit forms electronically to the IRS (electronic filing is required for employers submitting 250 or more forms; February 28 is the deadline for employers filing by mail).

The IRS also extended for 2016 returns the transition relief if offered last year, which waives penalties for certain errors in reporting if the employer makes a good faith effort to comply with the information reporting requirements.  This relief does not extend to employers who fail to file an information return or furnish a statement by the due date.