Notwithstanding the big news in today’s papers that the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decided in the King v. Burwell decision to uphold the funding mechanisms for the Affordable Care Act, Internal Revenue Service rules next week officially end the transitional exemption from the excise penalty for a small employer (generally less than 50 employees or full-time equivalents) who offered employees a so-called “employer payment plan”.  The employer payment plan is an arrangement for reimbursing employees for the premiums they pay in the absence of a qualified group health plan offered by the employer.  Penalties include an excise tax of up to $100/day per applicable employee ($36,500 per year, per employee).  The transition exemption expires at the close of business on Tuesday, June 30!  Critics of ObamaCare were hopeful that the King v Burwell decision would overturn the funding mechanism for the law and thereby effectively undo the mandate.  That did not happen, so it is now the law of the land without reservation, and all businesses are well-advised to prepare for compliance with its dictates.