Law and regulation

Under USERRA, employees that are called up for Reserves or National Guard duty are considered a protected class, and can’t be discriminated against based upon their military service or obligation.

Commentary: The narrowness of the ruling should not raise expectations that the NLRB will be shy about exercising jurisdiction in other cases or advancing a pro-labor agenda, as it has repeatedly done over the past several years.

On June 10, 2015, the New York City Council approved a new law prohibiting public and private sector employers from inquiring about a job applicant's criminal record history before making a conditional offer of employment. The new law, dubbed the "Fair Chance Act," adds New York City to a growing list of state and local jurisdictions with bans against employers' inquiries into prospective employees' arrest and conviction records.

Regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission want publicly traded companies to make it easier to determine that top executives’ compensations are aligned with the company’s financial performance.

Recent guidance from the National Labor Relations Board includes details about the types of employer policies and rules likely to be considered to unlawfully interfere with employees’ rights.

There are several important aspects of Obama's immigration Executive Order that potentially can impact employers in a wide range of industries.

Good recordkeeping is important to avoid paying for benefits for ineligible recipients.

Senator says accountability, transparency issues warrant move out of HHS.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice that provides some relief this tax season from tax penalties for taxpayers who find out when they file their taxes that they received an overpayment of premium tax credits for buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

While there are still some areas that could benefit from additional guidance, the agencies provide some much needed clarity in the issues that are addressed.

Having recently allowed recreational marijuana in the District of Columbia, D.C.'s council has also passed a new temporary law that would effectively ban employers from drug testing a prospective employee before a conditional offer of employment is made.

Tax reform, particularly corporate tax reform, will be on the agenda in 2015, congressional observers said.

Adjustments include how termination, active participant and multiple-employer plan information is reported.

Starting in 2015, employer reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act will take effect. But are HR and benefit departments up to the task? Here’s a health regulation primer for all employers to review.

With visions of the ACA's Cadillac tax on the 2018 horizon, major employers are already making arrangements to soften the blow and help deal with potential surcharges on employer-sponsored benefits - and working with their unions to control health plan costs.

They promised they would be coming and now they have. The Internal Revenue Service has issued draft instructions to help employers and plan sponsors comply with the Affordable Care Act’s 2015 reporting requirements.

The Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility requires large employers to offer group health plan coverage or face the prospect of having to pay money to the government. As a result, more and more employers are considering these strategies to help reduce or eliminate their exposure to penalties.

The Internal Revenue Service recently released draft versions of the forms that will be used to meet the shared responsibility reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act. They are designed to notify the government about whether individuals and employers are meeting their obligations concerning health coverage.

The White House this week breathed a sigh of relief – and conservatives simply sighed – when hours after a D.C. federal appeals court ruled that the Internal Revenue Service exceeded its authority in providing tax credit subsidies in 34 states, another federal appellate court ruled the opposite.

The immediate take-away for employers in the Halbig v. Burwell ruling is uncertainty about what the future brings for the Affordable Care Act. If the Halbig majority prevails, Obamacare has been dealt a serious, if not lethal, blow.