While it was not well-discussed in the media, the legislation which was the subject of the lone Senator's filibuster - H.R. 4691, the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010" - included an extension of the COBRA subsidy initially created by the ARRA. That subsidy expired on Sunday, February 28, 2010. The filibuster was broken, and the Senate passed the legislation on the evening of Tuesday, March 2, 2010, on a 78 to 19 vote. President Obama signed the legislation, reportedly in the private office of his White House residence, later that same night. Federal law is effective immediately upon signing.
The legislation signed by the President strikes the February 28, 2010 date and substitutes the date of March 31, 2010. That is, the COBRA subsidy currently is set to expire on March 31, 2010. If an employer had any terminations of employment on Monday or Tuesday of this week that would have been subject to the COBRA subsidy but for the expiration of the prior law, they may need to be revisited. Also, employers with involuntary terminations from now until March 31, 2010 (at least), will need to provide notifications as provided by law.
The "Temporary Extension Act of 2010," in addition to extending the eligibility period for COBRA subsidies, contains a number of provisions attempting to clarify portions of the prior law. We suggest checking the Department of Labor's website in the coming days for information on how these changes are being construed, as well as for changes to the forms that have been promulgated in the past. This is still a very fluid situation.
The "Temporary Extension Act of 2010" also temporarily extends unemployment benefit eligibility, as well as providing short-term extensions of authorities related to Medicare physician payments, Medicare therapy caps, surface transportation programs, flood insurance programs, retransmission of television broadcasts, Federal poverty guidelines, and Small Business Administration loan guarantees.