Amendment #1410 to H4700

Professional Employer Organizations

Mr. Wagner of Chicopee moves to amend the bill by adding the following new section:-

SECTION XX. Chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following section:-

Section 204. (a) A client and a registered PEO or PEO group shall each be deemed an employer for purposes of sponsoring retirement and welfare benefit plans for its covered employees.

(b) A fully insured welfare benefit plan offered to the covered employees of a PEO or PEO group shall be treated for purposes of state law as a single employer welfare benefit plan.

(c) For purposes of chapter 176J of the General Laws, a PEO or PEO group shall be considered the employer of covered employees and all such covered employees shall be included in the Full-Time Equivalents count for purposes of a fully insured health insurance plan sponsored by a PEO or PEO group.

(d) If a PEO or PEO group offers to its covered employees any health benefit plan which is not fully-insured by an authorized insurer, the plan shall: (i) utilize a third-party administrator licensed to do business in this Commonwealth; (ii) hold all plan assets, including participant contributions, in a trust account consistent with the requirements of Section 403 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA); (iii) provide sound reserves for such plan as determined using generally accepted actuarial standards of practice and consistent with the prudence and loyalty standards of care for ERISA fiduciaries; and (iv) provide written notice to each covered employee participating in the benefit plan that the plan is self-funded or is not fully-insured.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #1410 to H4700

Professional Employer Organizations