Employment Archives | Page 30 of 104 | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

Summary of Commuter Benefit Laws (Current as of Feb. 3, 2020)

by Erin Steele, Jacob Mattinson and McDermott Will & Schulte | Feb 20, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

An increasing number of jurisdictions around the country, including parts of California, New Jersey and Washington, DC, are mandating that employers provide commuter benefit programs that allow employees to pay for commuting costs on a pre-tax basis. While the requirements are similar across most jurisdictions, there are specific rules for which employees are covered under the different laws and other key distinctions. When budgeting and developing these programs, employers should be mindful of the different conditions under state and local law to ensure that commuter benefits meet all applicable requirements.

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What to Know Before Enforcing a Nicotine-Free Workplace

by Aaron P. Sayers, Erin Steele and Jacob Mattinson | Feb 11, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor

Certain employers might prefer to avoid hiring nicotine users: smokers, dippers and vapers alike. U-Haul International Inc. is doing so, with a policy that went into effect on February 1. Thus, this is an opportune moment to examine why employers might consider doing likewise, the legal ramifications of such policies and the alternatives for encouraging healthier workforces.

McDermott’s Jacob M. Mattinson, Aaron Sayers and Erin Steele contribute to a Law360 article exploring the practical and legal considerations related to a workplace nicotine ban, the impact on healthcare costs, whether employers can use health plan information to fire nicotine users once hired, and how other employers are addressing the costs of nicotine usage in their workforces.

Access the full article.

Originally published on Law360, January 2020

Brexit Update: Effects on Employment

by Katie Clark and Paul McGrath | Feb 6, 2020 | Employment

The United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union and has entered into a transition period until December 31 2020, unless an extension of 1 or 2 years is agreed by July 1 2020 (the Brexit Long Stop Date).

During this transition period, the UK will continue to trade with the EU in much the same way as it did before its exit. Negotiations will take place throughout this year to determine the future permanent relationship between the UK and the EU.

The UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has repeatedly stated that the transition period will not be extended beyond the end of this year. This is an ambitious deadline to reach a comprehensive agreement with the EU and the possibility of a “no deal” Brexit remains an event for which companies should prepare.

Against this backdrop, this update summarises the current status of the UK’s relationship with the EU and sets out some of the key legal implications associated with a “no deal” scenario for certain areas—one of which being employment, which we examine here.

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The 10 Most Significant Matters CEOs Should Know About Their Employment Contracts

by Ralph E. DeJong | Jan 30, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation

The most significant issues in any employment or severance agreement are going to be personal to that situation, and will be driven in part by special issues and circumstances. For instance, succession planning issues may be incredibly important to the organization when the CEO is 65 years old and there is no clear successor, and may be far less important when the CEO is 45 and there are very able executives ready to assume the CEO role if necessary. With that said, there are certain considerations to keep in mind for all who are drafting these contracts.

McDermott’s Ralph E. DeJong contributes to an article in The Practical Lawyer that identifies and describes what frequently are the most important considerations in an employment or severance agreement between an exempt organization and its CEOs.

Access the full article.

Originally published in The Practical Lawyer, December 2019

Finally SECURE: Opportunities in the 2019 SECURE Act for Plan Sponsors

by Jeffrey Holdvogt, Lisa Loesel and Sarah L. Engle | Jan 9, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

The SECURE Act—the most significant piece of retirement plan legislation in more than a decade—is now law. Plan sponsors should immediately start considering how changes included in the SECURE Act could impact their retirement and health and welfare plans in 2020 and beyond.

Access the full article.

Top 10 Things to Know About the New FLSA Overtime Calculations

by Brian Mead and P. Kevin Connelly | Jan 7, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Labor

Beginning January 15, 2020, new, more employer-friendly regulations determine how overtime pay is calculated under the Fair Labor Standards Act. We identified the top 10 things you should know about what is being changed or clarified.

Access the full article.

Employment Cases to Keep an Eye on in 2020

by Michael J. Sheehan | Jan 2, 2020 | Employment, Labor

This year, the US Supreme Court will get a chance to say whether federal civil rights law protects gay and transgender employees from discrimination, and California courts will grapple with recent changes making it harder for Golden State businesses to label workers as independent contractors. McDermott’s Michael Sheehan looked at these and other cases to watch in 2020 in a recent article for Law360.

Access the full article.

Originally published by Law360, January 2020

Ninth Circuit Decides Not to Rehear Its Decision Requiring Arbitration of ERISA Claims

by Richard J. Pearl and Ted Becker | Dec 19, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Retirement Plans

As we wrote in a previous On the Subject, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had signaled that it might rehear its August 2019 decisions in Dorman v. The Charles Schwab Corp., in which the Court compelled arbitration of ERISA class-action claims relating to a 401(k) plan. After ordering additional briefing, however, the Ninth Circuit denied the plaintiff’s petition for rehearing, leaving the Court’s decisions unchanged and requiring the plaintiff to arbitrate his ERISA breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims.

Access the full article.

UK Tax Changes Shift Worker Classification Burden to Clients

by Katie Clark and Paul McGrath | Nov 26, 2019 | Employment

The UK Government has conﬁrmed that it will extend to the private sector tax rules designed to target tax avoidance by contractors who operate through an intermediary personal service company (PSC).

The UK Government has announced that new “off-payroll working” tax rules (commonly known as IR35) will apply to the private sector from April 2020. The move will shift responsibility for determining the tax status of individuals who personally provide services through an intermediary personal service company from that PSC to the end user client.

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Fla. Class Actions Show Why Correct COBRA Notices Matter

by Julie H. McConnell and Megan Mardy | Nov 14, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

In Florida’s federal courts, there has been an epidemic of class actions alleging that employers failed to provide technically proper notice of the right to continued healthcare coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. A dozen such lawsuits have been filed (each by the same law firm) with mirror image allegations.

These cases illustrate why it is necessary to sweat the details in issuing COBRA notices, which McDermott’s Megan Mardy and Julie McConnell walk through in a recent analysis for Law360.

Access the full article.

Originally published by Law360, October 2019

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