Partner Tiffany Downs was quoted in the SHRM article, "Supreme Court Will Hear ERISA Church-Plan Dispute," on the Court deciding whether church-affiliate hospitals' retirement plans must be ERISA compliant.
On the background of the issue Tiffany said, "The main idea is that plans established by churches are exempt from ERISA because of the separation of church and state. Over time, the exemption has been expanded by the IRS to include hospitals and other entities that are affiliate with religious organizations."
On HR's role in the decision Tiffany explained, "This is a narrow issue that will only affect those entities affiliated with churches. But if the Supreme Court upholds the circuit court decisions, HR professionals working for those organizations may have a relatively short period of time to get their pension plan funding up to where it needs to be."
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