One of the provisions of Health Care Reform that is sure to impact employers is the required four-page summary of benefits and coverage. Often called the "SBC," this form is in addition to the existing requirement to issue summary plan descriptions ("SPDs"). Until recently, the effective date for issuing the SBC was March 23, 2012. Thankfully, new guidance gives employers until at least September 23, 2012 to comply.

With the decline in the number of defined benefit plans, fewer employees can rely on a guaranteed stream of retirement income outside of Social Security. Instead, most employees must figure out how to make their finite 401(k) balances last for the rest of their lives - a daunting task to say the least. Although employers are permitted to offer an annuity option investment with a guaranteed income stream in 401(k) plans, employers are often deterred by the regulatory and administrative hurdles involved in doing so. Now under the Treasury and Labor Departments' initiative to "give employees and employers more options for putting the 'pension' back in our private pension system," several pieces of guidance have been issued that move a few steps closer to clearing those hurdles.

On December 21, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") adopted its final rules to implement Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Act"), which requires mine operators to disclose certain mine safety. While the mine safety disclosure requirements set forth in Section 1503 of the Act became effective on August 20, 2010, the SEC issued the Final Rules in order to facilitate consistent compliance with the Act's requirements and to codify amendments to Forms 8-K, 10-Q, 10-K, 20-F and 40-F.