Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (also known as CRATs) have been blessed by IRS since 1970. So why is the IRS now proposing to make CRATs reportable with your individual tax return with hefty penalties for not reporting? The short answer is due to the abuse of this income tax and estate tax planning tool. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
If you recall, President Biden announced in September that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) would be issuing a mandate requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to have a mandatory vaccination policy to minimize the spread of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace and protect unvaccinated employees. OSHA released the emergency temporary standard (called an ETS) on November 4th. All covered employers are required to be compliant with the ETS by January 4, 2022. While OSHA has issued prior guidance, these new requirements are a more aggressive step towards eliminating Covid-19 and its related risks in the workplace.
Establishing an estate plan is a crucial step toward peace of mind. An estate plan typically includes the following documents: a Will, a Financial Power of Attorney, a Health Care Power of Attorney, and in many cases, a Revocable Living Trust. These documents help control your assets if you become disabled or pass away.
New federal guidance issued August 13, 2021 reinforces that all employers should implement multi-layered interventions to protect unvaccinated and otherwise at-risk workers and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The District of Columbia and all major surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia are considered to be areas of substantial or high transmission (as of September 15, 2021). The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act or its state counterpart covers most private sector employers in the United States. While there is no simple one-size-fits-all approach, the OSHA guidance is a helpful checklist for businesses to determine their individual approaches.
The Health Care Power of Attorney and the Advance Medical Directive are critically important estate planning documents. The Advance Medical Directive (often called a “Living Will”) allows you to make your wishes known about whether to withhold life support in certain contexts. The Health Care Power of Attorney allows you to name someone (usually called an “agent” or an “attorney-in-fact”) to make healthcare decisions for you, in the event you are incapable of doing so yourself.
As the pandemic wears on and effective vaccines roll out to many adults, employers and employees are hoping to stop wearing masks in the workplace. To reduce labor risks, we advise employers to keep a workplace mask policy in place, remind all employees that the policy remains in effect, and directly address employees who do not cooperate.
Employers, schools, and real estate developers should take note of a new Executive Order issued on Inauguration Day which gives an expansive reading to last summer’s Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. In Bostock, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch writing for a 6:3 majority held that Title VII’s prohibition on employment discrimination “because of . . . sex” covers discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
With the blurring between remote work and home life due to the ongoing pandemic, some employers are seeing an uptick in the workplace effects of domestic violence.
It was a relief when Pfizer and, then Moderna, released that they had both developed an effective Covid-19 vaccine. We saw a light at the end of the tunnel. The state and local governments have released plans for the roll-out of the vaccines to those populations most in need, starting with health professionals, first responders, and nursing home residents and care givers.
As we begin 2021, we are still faced with Covid-19 affecting every part of our lives. While hope is on the horizon as vaccines are being produced and distributed, we must continue to proceed thoughtfully as we face these challenges. Besides the changes that the vaccine will bring, there are several important updates from the recent Stimulus Bill which was signed into law at the end of 2020: