In new guidance, the IRS has provided tax relief for leave-based donation programs established to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy. Similar guidance was provided after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Under a leave-based donation program, an employer allows employees to elect to forego paid leave time (e.g., vacation, sick, or personal leave), and the employer then donates the value of the foregone leave to a charitable organization.

The guidance clarifies that employees will not have taxable wage income solely because they make, or have the right to make, an election to donate leave under a qualifying leave-based donation program. Employers are allowed a full deduction for the donations, without regard to the percentage limitations on charitable contributions.

To qualify for this treatment, payments of foregone leave time must be made:

• To a qualifying charitable organization.
• For the relief of victims of Hurricane Sandy.
• Before January 1, 2014.

Employees who elect to participate in a leave-based donation program may not claim a charitable contribution deduction for the value of the foregone leave.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill late last week that would partially repeal the use-it-or-lose-it rule for flexible spending account plans. The change would allow for a taxable distribution of up to $500 in unspent employee contributions remaining at the end of the plan year. Legislative attention to this somewhat obscure provision of the cafeteria-plan rules comes just days after the IRS separately announced it was evaluating whether the limitation should continue.

The bill would also repeal the PPACA restriction on reimbursement of over-the-counter drugs through health FSAs and HSAs. 

The Senate has yet to vote, but there appears to be some bipartisan support for the bill, primarily among senators -- including Democrat Al Franken of Minnesota -- who favor a separate provision that would repeal a tax on medical-device manufacturers.

A federal appeals court in Boston ruled late last week that a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it violates the rights of same-sex couples who are validly married under Massachusetts law. At issue in the case was a provision of DOMA that says only opposite-sex spouses may be recognized as spouses for purposes of federal law.

This has important implications for employee-benefit plans because several provisions of federal law grant spouses special rights. For example, spouses have survivor rights under retirement plans, and spouses can receive tax-free coverage and have special-enrollment and COBRA rights under group health plans. Under DOMA, these rights do not apply to same-sex spouses, but that could change if DOMA is struck down.

The case does not disturb existing state statutes and constitutional provisions that prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages. But difficult questions may arise if a same-sex couple that is validly married in one state seeks to enforce rights under federal law against an employer or employee-benefit plan in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Ultimately, this is an issue that will be addressed by the Supreme Court, and now that a federal appeals court has ruled, review by the Supreme Court could come as early as next year.

October is my favorite month of the year.  Warm, sunny days, followed by cool, crisp nights.  Colorful foliage.  Fall festivals.  College football.  Playoff baseball.  And, of course, the start of another U.S. Supreme Court session.

Jason Lacey, a Foulston Siefkin LLP partner who advises employers in the area of employee benefits, presented a seminar titled “Health Care Reform 102” to HR professionals and business managers on August 18 and August 23 in Wichita.  The workshop explored in detail two of the more-troubling aspects of health care reform law for employers:  (1) the new rules prohibiting discrimination in insured health plans, and (2) the new play-or-pay penalties that will impact many employers beginning in 2014.