Can Voluntary Benefits Trigger ERISA Fiduciary Duties (with Tyler Hubert)

If your voluntary benefits are employee-funded, they're exempt from ERISA… right? Not necessarily.

In late December, Schlichter Bogard filed a series of class actions alleging that voluntary benefits programs like accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity coverage don't qualify for the Department of Labor's safe harbor exemption.

Plaintiffs argue that common employer actions (sending enrollment reminders, including the employer's logo on communications, endorsing the coverage) push these programs into ERISA coverage, triggering fiduciary duties that weren't being met.

If your company offers voluntary benefits, now's the time to audit whether your administration actually qualifies for the safe harbor. The line between "offering" and "endorsing" just became critically important.