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New York insurance companies that were not covering the screening, diagnosis and treatment for autism spectrum disorders will now be mandated to do so effective Nov. 1, 2012.
November 7 -
The Department of Labor has slightly delayed the deadlines on significant new affirmative obligations for fiduciaries of retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
November 1 -
A California appellate court has carved out an exception to the general rule that employers in California have a duty to reimburse legal expenses of employees whenever they are sued over conduct engaged in during the course and scope of their employment. No such duty exists, the court held, when the employer sues the employee—even if the employee is ultimately successful in defending the case.
October 28 -
The Hertz car rental company said last week that 26 Muslim drivers at Seattle's airport who sent termination letters in a dispute over prayer breaks could still return to work if they signed an agreement over break rules by the end of the day.
October 26 -
In Tomlinson v. El Paso Corporation, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently held that El Paso Corporations transition to a cash balance pension plan did not violate federal anti-age discrimination and pension laws. In doing so, the court offered important guidance to employers that provide pension benefits to their employees.
October 21 -
Amidst resistance and apparent confusion surrounding its new employee rights notice-posting rule, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has pushed back the rule’s effective date by more than two months. Employers affected by the rule must now post the notice by January 31, 2012. The rule, which requires employers to post a notice of workplace employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act, was previously slated to go into effect November 14, 2011. The NLRB
October 14 -
An Iowa administrative law judge has blasted QC Mart convenience store owner William Ernst for operating a "firing contest."
October 12 -
The IRS recently issued Notice 2011‐72 and a Memorandum for All Field Examination Operations, which provide a road‐map for employers to avoid taxing employees on cell phone expenses. Following the de‐listing of cell phones as "listed property" from Code section 274(d) last year, there has continued to be some uncertainty on the proper tax treatment of employer‐provided cell phones (and reimbursements of cell phone costs). This guidance, summarized below, clarifies the proper tax treatment and
October 7 -
Historically, the retirement industry hasn't been required to publish all fees and expenses associated with 401(k) products. That's about to change.
October 1 -
An Arab-American who is a former employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers has filed suit against the firm, claiming he was terminated after he told an internal newsletter that he thought "there is room for improvement" in PwC's diversity practices.
October 1 -
Until recently, most legal practitioners considered Illinois law well established in the area of employee restrictive covenants, including non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Now, however, things could easily be described as a bit murky because recent decisions have called into question some basic principles of restrictive covenants. One Illinois appellate court, for example, has completely gone its own way, cavalierly jettisoning long-accepted jurisprudence. Another court has been at least willing to consider modifying well-known principles. So,
September 30 -
The Federal Reserve's ‘Operation Twist’ to bring down bond yields and stimulate the economy is likely to cause pain for the nation's largest pension funds, already struggling with funding shortfalls from the recent stock market decline.
September 26 -
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a new Accounting Standards Update aimed at improving employer disclosures for multiple-employer pension plans.
September 26 -
Investment advisor advocates are breathing easier after the Department of Labor announced Monday that it has pulled its current proposal on the definition of a fiduciary off the table. The agency will take up the issue in early 2012 and repropose a fiduciary definition after more industry input. For now, the move provides a reprieve for advisors who were worried that the current proposals would encumber firms with costly restrictions on how they deliver advice to…
September 20 -
On September 7, 2011, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law an act prohibiting discrimination based upon "genetic information." The new law becomes effective on January 1, 2012 and, in the context of employment discrimination, covers California employers who regularly employ five or more workers. California already prohibits discrimination in the context of employment, housing and the provision of business services when such discrimination is based upon certain "protected" characteristics, including race, sex, age, disability and
September 16 -
A little over a year ago, I wrote a column about my plans to jump on the dependent eligibility verification audit bandwagon, along with thousands of other employers eager to remove ineligible dependents from their health insurance plans to hedge against ever-rising health care costs.
September 15 -
A Borders Group Inc unit failed to give its workers proper notice of mass layoffs when it announced plans to liquidate in July, a new lawsuit alleges.
September 6 -
The U.S. Department of Labor has slightly delayed the deadlines on significant new affirmative obligations for fiduciaries of retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Although the deadlines have been pushed back to April 1, 2012, employers should be preparing now to ensure that they are ready to comply with the new requirements.
September 1 -
It's been nearly two years since the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a compliance manual update on religious discrimination. Religious discrimination involves disparate treatment, harassment, retaliation or refusal to reasonably accommodate religious beliefs or practices.
September 1 -
[IMGCAP(1)] PHOENIX | Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:44pm EDT (Reuters) - The United States' largest year-round grower of greenhouse tomatoes has pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring undocumented workers in Arizona and been fined $600,000, authorities said on Friday. Eurofresh Inc, which grows hydroponic tomatoes at facilities in Willcox and Snowflake, Arizona, will also be required to remain on probation for five years, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona said.
August 30
