Author: jfortenberry@fortenberrylaw.com

Erik Heels’ blog has this post discussing how a major law firm has started a weblog, and this post on how a weblog can be the “main publishing platform for any website, including a law firm website.”

Broc Romanek at TheCorporateCounsel.net Blog has a June 12th post on the SEC Form 11-K 906 Certification requirement discussed in previous posts here.

You can’t tell from this article by Joyce M. Rosenberg for the Associated Press at WashingtonPost.com–“IRS Reaches Out to Small Businesses”–whether, in fact, the IRS is merely trying to encourage small businesses to adopt retirement programs or track them down for noncompliance.

Today’s Federal Register is here and contains the PBGC’s interest assumptions for valuation dates in July, 2003.

This very important news–“House approves new tax-cut package; Measure includes extension on child tax credit’–from Ted Barrett for the CNN Washington Bureau at CNN.com. The article reports that the White House has expressed support for both the House and the Senate versions of the bill. The article also reports that a White House statement released Thursday urged congressional leaders to “quickly resolve their differences.” Today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal reports Republicans as saying that “the White House is eager to put the matter to rest, and beyond the fix, cares little about specifics,” but also reports that “prospects look bleak for a quick resolution.”

A very good article by Sandra Block at USAToday discusses the practical effect of JAGTRRA for married couples–“Tax cut may enhance wedded bliss.”

An article by Michael Kaye discusses overfunded pension plans at BusinessWeekOnline: “Plenty in the Pension Pool: These 10 companies have well-funded retirement plans, and they’re highly rated by S&P analysts.”

“Candidate Edwards Calls for Pension Reforms”: this article at MercuryNews.com by Mike Glover discusses Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards’ comments in Iowa on his proposals for pension reform to correct what he calls pension inequities.

This article from the U.S. Newswire: “Snowe, Colleagues Take Aim at Attorney General’s Effort to Block Expansion of Health Care Plans for Uninsured.”

This article by Thompson Publishing Group at Benefitslink.com offers an inside look at the processes one company has gone through to meet compliance with the HIPAA privacy rules.

This article has been published by Seyfarth, Shaw: “IRS Correction Program Updated and Expanded.”

CCH.com has this article: “Bush Administration may be reviving retirement savings proposals.” Many have been saying that the Retirement Savings Proposals which were contained in the budget released on February 3, 2003 would never be enacted due to all that is going on right now in Congress. However, the article references a speech made at the Retirement Savings Conference, sponsored by the Investment Company Institute and the Securities Industry Association in Washington DC on June 2, 2003 by Assistant Treasury Secretary Pamela Olson in which she discussed the President’s proposals. You can access the speech here. (via Benefitslink.com)

This article by David M. Katz at CFO.com: “Needed: $36 Billion in Pension Contribution; Pension plans of S&P 500 vastly underfunded; same story for federal agency that backstops pension plans.” The article cites a report by FTI Consulting which examined GAAP pension data and disclosures for fiscal 2002, and found that 19 of the S&P 500 companies’ pension funding requirements will “top 30 percent of their most recent fiscal year’s free-cash flow.”

AccountingWeb.com has this article by Dixon Odom: “Timeliness of Remitting Employee Contributions to Retirement Plans.” The article discusses how the Employee Benefits Security Administration (formerly the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration) a division of the Department of Labor (DOL) is emphasizing its position regarding the timeliness of remittances of participant contributions to employee retirement plans. The article reports that the 2002 Form 5500 (Annual Retirement/Report of Employee Benefit Plan) has a revision to question 4a of Schedule H (large plan filers) and Schedule I (small plan filers) which highlights EBSA’s position. The 2001 Form 5500 asked whether the employer had remitted participant contributions within the maximum time period allowed (i.e. the fifteenth business day). The 2002 Form 5500 asks: Did the employer fail to transmit to the plan any participant contributions within the time described in 29 CFR 2510.3-102? These reg.’s require an employer to segregate employee contributions, including plan loan repayments, from its general assets “as of the earliest date on which such contributions can reasonably be segregated from the employer’s general assets.” The article reports that employers can correct violations of this rule under the DFVC program.

The Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 660) was approved today by a vote of 26 to 21 by the House Education and Workforce Committee. The bill would allow small businesses to band together through associations to purchase health care for their employees. President Bush and the U.S. Department of Labor support the legislation, as well as groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). This article by Thompson Publishing Group reports on the bill: “AHP Bill Clears House Committee.”

This news release by the Department of Labor on the subject was just issued: “Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Applauds Passage of Association Health Plans Legislation.”