The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently addressed the notice requirement of the federal successor liability doctrine where withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan occurred after a sale of assets.
“Massive terminations” occur in China when an employer terminates more than 20 employees or more than 10 percent of its total employees at one time. Even though there are no official statistics on massive terminations of employees in China, recent news reports indicates an increase based on overseas investment leaving China. This article provides an overview of some of the common characteristics of massive terminations and of the issues companies with Chinese employees should consider in implementing a massive termination.
Read the full China Law Alert.
On September 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled in Fontaine v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), does not preempt an Illinois state insurance regulation that prohibits discretionary authority clauses in health and disability plan insurance policies. The Seventh Circuit upheld the ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which decided that the Illinois regulation was not subject to preemption under precedent set forth in prior decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States.
On 6 March 2015, the German Bundestag passes a law (the Frauenquote) that aims to ensure the equal participation of women and men in the management of business and public office. The Frauenquote entered into force on 1 May 2015. The new regulation, although commonly referred to as a “women’s quota” is legally constructed to ensure that both genders are represented by as many individuals as necessary to meet the mandatory statutory minimum quota.
For more about the mandatory quota including the main effects, obligations and sanctions for infringements, read the full article in International News: Focus on Private Equity.
In June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry in all states and that states may not refuse to recognize a lawful same-sex marriage performed in another state based on the marriage’s same-sex character. Practical Law asked McDermott lawyers Todd Solomon and Jacob Mattinson to discuss the implications of the Obergefell ruling for employers.
Susan M. Nash wrote this bylined article about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) long-awaited guidance on when it will enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against employers who sponsor certain types of employee wellness programs. “Although still in proposed form, the proposed rule provides insight into EEOC’s approach toward regulating employer wellness programs,” Ms. Nash wrote.
China’s current compliance challenges are a continuous source of concern for multi-national companies operating in China. When conducting internal investigations, China has strong privacy protections for its employees. Overstepping legal limits can lead to a variety of issues, from inadmissibility of evidence to tort actions, to criminal penalties in extreme cases.
For more about the multiplicity of issues and how to correctly conduct internal investigations and digital due diligence in China, read the full article in International New: Focus on Private Equity.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
12:00 – 1:00 pm CDT
On Thursday, August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision significantly expanding the definition of a joint employer. The decision has implications for most employers, both unionized and non-unionized. Joint-employer issues may affect businesses using contractors or staffing agencies; franchisers and franchisees; parent entities and subsidiaries; and private equity groups and their portfolio companies.
In addition to the NLRB’s decision, other federal agencies have signaled their interest in a broadened definition of what constitutes an employment relationship: the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed an amicus brief in the NLRB litigation urging a broader joint-employer standard, and the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor recently issued guidelines with a sweeping definition of employee status. These changes may also have implications for the Affordable Care Act compliance and qualified benefit plans.
Please join us for a one-hour webcast to discuss the ramifications of the NLRB’s decision and the steps businesses should be taking to decrease risk associated with joint-employer relationships.
Click here to view the event listing.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued two significant notices for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension plans, particularly those considering lump-sum windows as a “de-risking” option for their plans. In Notice 2015-49, the IRS notified plan sponsors that they are no longer permitted to offer retirees in pay status the option to take a lump-sum payment in lieu of ongoing annuity payments. Plan sponsors may, however, continue to offer a lump-sum payment option to deferred vested participants not in pay status. In Notice 2015-53, the IRS released updated mortality tables for 2016 and delayed the issuance of new regulations, which could incorporate new mortality assumptions recommended by the Society of Actuaries that many believe would increase pension funding liabilities and minimum lump-sum payments.
With no Congressional consensus to adopt a federal data privacy and breach notification statute, states are updating and refining their already-existing laws to enact more stringent requirements for companies. Two states recently passed updated data privacy laws with significant changes.
Read the full post here.
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