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…

Historically, the retirement industry hasn't been required to publish all fees and expenses associated with 401(k) products. That's about to change.

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.

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,…

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.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a new Accounting Standards Update aimed at improving employer disclosures for multiple-employer pension plans.

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…

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…

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.

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.

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. …

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.

[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. …

If you have former employees receiving subsidies for COBRA coverage, that will end August 31 with no signs of Congress looking to extend the subsidy program further.

A former Arab American 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.

If you're a small business, age discrimination is something that you should be sure to avoid. After all, wrongful termination or mistreatment of employees because of their age can result in lawsuits, as illustrated by a recent lawsuit filed by a New York teacher who was fired allegedly because of her age.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) had proposed a rule that would require companies to report to disclose potential withdrawal liability for multiemployer defined benefit pension.

First, there was the Taco Bell meat lawsuit. And now, there's the Taco Bell haircut lawsuit.

Employers maintaining qualified retirement plans are generally required to file an annual Form 5500 regardless of the number of participants in the plan, except for one-participant plans with less than $250,000 in assets.

The job of being a retirement plan fiduciary may soon be a more lonely experience. Or maybe it will just seem that way under the Department of Labor's 408(b)(2) regulations. Earlier this year, the agency extended the compliance date for the new disclosure rules under ERISA section 408(b)(2) from July 16, 2011, to Jan. 1, 2012, meaning retirement plan service providers have more time to prepare before they are required to disclose to plan sponsors that they are indeed acting as a plan fiduciary. Further, the extension pushes back the transition rule for providing initial disclosures from 60 days after the effective date to 120 days after the effective date. Thus, for calendar-year plans, initial disclosures don't need to be made until April 30, 2012.