Employment Archives - Page 38 of 104 - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

House Narrowly Passes American Health Care Act

by McDermott Will & Emery | May 9, 2017 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor

On Thursday, May 4, 2017, the US House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act by the slimmest of margins with no Democrats voting in favor of the bill. Amendments to the original bill attracted more support from both moderate and conservative Republicans by the introduction of two amendments: one that gives more leeway to the states to request waivers from the more onerous provisions of the ACA that cannot be changed through the budget reconciliation process, and a second one that adds $8 billion of funding to the bill to help improve the “high-risk pools” that could be set up by states to provide coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions who cannot find affordable insurance in the open market.

Read the full article.

Upcoming Employee Benefits Innovators Roundtable Series!

by McDermott Will & Emery | May 4, 2017 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employment, Executive Compensation, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans

McDermott will be holding its annual Employee Benefits Innovators Roundtable Series this month. The roundtables offer experienced benefits professionals an opportunity to discuss cutting-edge, topical employer-driven benefit programs with their peers and members of McDermott’s employee benefits team. We are meeting in four locations this year. Join us in one of the following cities:

May 9 | Silicon Valley, California

May 11 | Los Angeles, California

May 22 | Chicago, Illinois

May 24 | New York, New York

The topics for our roundtable series sessions will include:

The Future of Employee Benefits Under the Trump Administration
Should Your Plan Cover All Drugs? (FDA-Approved/Unapproved, Off-Label, Marijuana, etc.)
ERISA Retirement Plan Fee Litigation – Learning From Recent Class Actions
Paying Off Student Loans as an Employee Benefit
Equal Privacy and Cybersecurity – Now Part of Your Plan’s Independent Audit
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Equality Index – Opposite-Sex Domestic Partner Benefit

For more information about how to register for one of our roundtables, please contact Erin Nelson.

Employee Benefits Programs in May

by McDermott Will & Emery, Jacob Mattinson, Joseph K. Urwitz, Lisa Loesel, Lisa Schmitz Mazur and Ruth Wimer | Apr 27, 2017 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Labor, Retirement Plans

Join members of the McDermott Employee Benefits team in May at one of these programs covering a variety of employee benefits topics.

The John Marshall Law School The Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits 14th Annual Employee Benefits Symposium | May 1, 2017 | Chicago, Illinois | Speaker, Joseph S. Adams

Proposed 457(f) Regulations: Opportunities and Challenges | May 3, 2017 | Webinar presented by Mary K. Samsa, Joseph K. Urwitz, Ruth Wimer

M&A Workshop: New Developments and Key Legal and Tax Issues Throughout the Life Cycle of a Deal | May 4, 2017 | Chicago, Illinois | Speaker, Joseph S. Adams

Benefits Emerging Leaders Working Group | May 10, 2017 | Chicago, Illinois | Speakers, Lisa K. Loesel, Lisa Schmitz Mazur, Jacob M. Mattinson, Jeffrey Arnold, Sarah Raaii

Advising the ‘Cultural Revolution’ in the Boardroom

by Michael W. Peregrine | Apr 25, 2017 | Employment

Michael Peregrine wrote this bylined article analyzing what he called the “significant emerging governance trend” in which corporate boards proactively exercise “more vigorous and direct oversight of the organization’s corporate culture,” reflecting “an increasing awareness of how matters of culture and reputation correlate to the success of an organization, and to the board’s efforts to sustain long-term corporate objectives.”

Read the full article.

IRS Issues Revised Requirements for Employers to Claim FICA Tax Refunds

by Kevin Spencer and Ruth Wimer | Apr 13, 2017 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment

On March 20, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2017-28, which provides guidance to employers on obtaining employee consents used to support a claim for credit or refund of overpaid taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA). This OTS describes the new procedures and provides valuable information regarding the rules for amending past employment tax returns due to the over- or under-payment of Social Security, Medicare and Federal income tax on employee wages.

Read the full article.

UK Employment Alert: Compensation Limits on Employment Tribunal Awards

by Katie Clark | Mar 28, 2017 | Employment

The compensation limits on Employment Tribunal awards and certain other amounts payable under UK employment legislation will increase as of 6 April 2017.

This alert sets out the changes in full and highlights important consequences for employers.

Read the full article.

UK Employment Alert: Gender Pay Gap Reporting: What You Need to Know

by Anthony A. Bongiorno, Katie Clark and Paul McGrath | Mar 16, 2017 | Employment, Labor

McDermott’s “Key Employment Law Events in 2017 and Beyond” update highlighted the upcoming regulations requiring certain employers to report on the gender pay gap in their workforce (Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017) (the Regulations). Under these Regulations, from April 2017, large private and voluntary sector UK employers will be required annually to calculate and publish a range of gender pay information regarding their workforce.

Read full article.

Structuring Private Equity Deals in 2017: Considerations for Buyers While They Wait for the Sun Capital Appeals to Play Out

by McDermott Will & Emery | Feb 28, 2017 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Labor, Retirement Plans

Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund has been analyzed extensively over the past four years, as it has made its way from the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts to the First Circuit Court of Appeals and back again. With the case once again on appeal, we must wait to see how the latest court decision will further influence the structure of private equity deals. In the meantime, private equity funds should use the most recent District Court and First Circuit Sun Capital decisions as a road map for structuring deals where the target portfolio company has defined benefit pension plan or multiemployer pension plan liabilities.

Read full article.

Understanding Equal Pay Laws and Avoiding and Defending Pay Equity Claims

by Evan A. Belosa | Feb 6, 2017 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Labor

The federal government’s focus on pay equity and pay data, and the passage of groundbreaking equal pay laws in a number of states, has been one of the biggest employment law developments of 2016. Litigation involving pay equity claims has also risen in the past year. Given the increased focus on pay equity from these multiple sources, employers are well-advised to examine their compensation policies and practices. Understanding and applying the varying tests for pay equity under federal and state statutes can pose a challenge, however.

On January 24, McDermott hosted an in-depth webinar to discuss the federal Equal Pay Act; state equal pay laws; the EEOC’s pay data rule; how to conduct a pay equity study; and employer defenses to pay equity claims.

To view the archived presentation slides, please click here.

To view the archived webinar, please click here.

What You Need to Know About President Trump’s Executive Order on Immigration Issues

by Joan-Elisse Carpentier | Feb 3, 2017 | Employment

Over the past week, President Donald J. Trump signed three Executive Orders involving US immigration issues. The Executive Order signed on January 27, 2017, was somewhat unexpected in terms of its focus and the extent of its reach. Entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” the order has an immediate impact on millions of legal immigrants, nonimmigrants and US businesses.

Since the order was signed, there have been numerous announcements from the US Department of Homeland Security, including US Citizenship & Immigration Services and US Customs & Border Protection, as well as the US Department of State. Many of these announcements have been contradictory or have been superseded immediately by other information. This is an ever-changing situation, but the following information is current as of press time:

Nonimmigrant and immigrant visa processing has been suspended for nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Issuance of visas has been suspended for a period of 90 days. The US embassies and consulates have cancelled immigrant visa appointments for the month of February. Further cancellations are expected.

Suspension of visa processing does not include those traveling on diplomatic visas; NATO visas; C-2 and C-3 visas for UN and foreign transit; and G-1, G-2, G-3 and G-4 visas.

Nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen in possession of valid nonimmigrant and immigrant visas are barred from entry to the United States for a period of 90 days.

Immediately after the Order was signed, many nationals of the aforementioned countries boarded flights to the United States. These travelers experienced long waits in the inspections area, only to be denied admission to the United States. At the present time, airlines will not board individuals from the aforementioned countries who hold nonimmigrant or immigrant visas.

Nonimmigrant and immigrant visas of nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen have been provisionally revoked.

Revocation goes hand-in-hand with the ban on travel to the United States, but it is still unknown whether those holding such visas will need to have them reissued in the future or if their visa status will be reinstated in some manner.

Nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen may be issued visas or granted other immigration benefits on a case-by-case basis if the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security determine it is in the national interest to issue visas or benefits to such individuals.

At the present time no procedure has been announced for requesting review of a visa application under the “national interest” exception.

It has been determined that nationals from the seven countries who are US permanent residents will be readmitted to the United States as being in the national interest, provided no derogatory information about an individual is uncovered.

The policy on readmission of permanent residents was a tremendous relief to many who initially [...]

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