Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 25

ERISA DISCLOSURES
BY: BARRY FIELDS,
VICE PRESIDENT OF
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Don’t Mess With The DOL
Regulations For Electronic Distribution of ERISA Disclosures
W
ith the recent increase
in audits by the
Department of Labor
(DOL), one of the
most frequently asked
questions JGS Insurance receives is under
what circumstances can documents be
distributed electronically by email, by
company intranet and the like.
DOL regulations contain a safe harbor
under which employee plans may use
electronic means to distribute certain
documents and other information required
under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
The following documents and notices
may be distributed electronically if certain
conditions (described below) are met:
• Summary Plan Description (SPD)
• Summary of Material Modification
(SMM)
• Summary Annual Report (SAR)
• COBRA Notices
• Summary of Benefits and Coverage
(SBC)
•
Notice of Health Insurance
Marketplace Coverage Options
WORK EMAIL
Documents can be sent to an employee’s
work email address without consent as long
as all of the following is in place:
1. The work email is specifically for, and
used by, the employee on a regular basis as a
part of daily work responsibilities.
2. An actual receipt of transmitted
information is confirmed such as through
a failure-to-deliver notice, a periodic review
or survey of employees to confirm materials
are being received, or a confirmation receipt
received by the sender from the recipient.
3. The email includes a statement as to the
significance of the document.
4. The email explains the right to request
a paper version at no cost and provides
instructions on how to request a paper copy.
5. The notice content does not contain any
identifiable protected personal information.
PERSONAL EMAIL
If employees do not have a primary work-
issued email address, they may elect, with
written consent, to provide the employer
with a personal email address for receipt of
specific electronic notice. This consent must
be obtained yearly and must include the
following:
1. The types of documents to which the
consent would apply
2. The fact that consent can be withdrawn at
any time without charge
3. The procedures for withdrawing
consent and for updating the participant’s,
beneficiary’s or other individual’s address
for receipt of electronically furnished
documents or other information
4. The right to request and obtain a paper
version of an electronically furnished
document including whether the paper
version will be provided free of charge
5. Information on any hardware and
software requirements for accessing and
retaining the documents
COMPANY INTRANET
Employers may post documents to a
designated site on the internet. Under
this method, the employer must ensure
employees have the ability to access these
documents at will during and after business
hours. Employers must provide a separate
notification sent via an electronic or
nonelectronic method to each employee
notifying them of:
1. the document’s availability;
2. the importance of the information
contained in the documents; and
3. the right to receive this information by
another acceptable means, nonelectronic or
electronic, as described above.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Also, JGS Insurance can provide you
with sample documents that address a
variety of these circumstances such as the
Consent for Electronic Delivery, Email
Notice of Important Document, and an
Acknowledgment of Receipt of Important
Documents. +
Barry Fields has over 26 years of employee
benefits experience advising clients in a
wide range of industries, professional and
industrial, public and private, throughout
the United States and worldwide.
Barry specializes in providing full-service
benefits consulting to clients including
program design, compliance, plan funding,
underwriting, wellness programs, employee
communications, benefits administration,
employee advocacy and the use of effective
strategies in benefits management.
25