Employment Archives | Page 49 of 105 | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

SEC’s Large Payouts to Compliance-Officer Whistleblowers Highlight Need for Companies to Pay Prompt Attention

by Eugene I. Goldman | May 19, 2015 | Employment

On April 22, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had awarded $1.4 million–$1.6 million to a compliance officer-turned-whistleblower who aided the SEC in an enforcement action against the officer’s employer. This marks the second time an employee with an internal audit or compliance function—who does not typically qualify under whistleblower rules—received an award under the SEC’s whistleblower program dictated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Read the full article.

McDermott’s Todd Solomon Discusses Same-Sex Employee Benefits with the Wall Street Journal

by Diane Morgenthaler and McDermott Will & Emery | May 14, 2015 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

As the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether gay couples are constitutionally entitled to marry, more companies in states with marriage equality have begun to mandate that gay employees marry in order to maintain benefits, including health care coverage. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, McDermott partner Todd Solomon discusses the shifting terrain of coverage and benefits that companies offer unmarried gay partners. McDermott lawyers have been monitoring domestic partnership benefits for almost two decades, and, as Mr. Solomon notes, the landscape is definitely changing.

Read the full article, “Firms Tell Gay Couples: Wed or Lose Your Benefits,” in the Wall Street Journal.

DOL Final Rule Prohibiting Discrimination against LGBT Individuals in Government Contracting Effective April 2015

by Brian Tiemann, Jacob Mattinson and Todd Solomon | May 12, 2015 | Employment

“Final rule from the Department of Labor, effective as of April 2015, provides that federal contractors may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) similarly takes the position that employers may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status.”

Read the full article.

McDermott to Host Benefits Innovators Roundtable Series – May 19 in New York City

by rshankar | May 5, 2015 | Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans

McDermott Will & Emery will be holding the next invitation-only Benefits Innovators Roundtable series in our New York office on May 19, 2015. These roundtables offer senior, experienced professionals an opportunity to discuss employer-provided benefits best practices with peers and experienced McDermott employee benefits lawyers. Previous events in this series have led to spirited discussions on a broad range of cutting-edge topics.

This session’s topics will include:

Lawsuits by health service providers
Hot issues in data privacy
Brainstorming sessions on: the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 term (including King v. Burwell), legislative proposals, 401(k) issues and recent U.S. Department of Labor actions.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Donna Baker.

EEOC Issues Guidance on Employer Provided Wellness Programs

by Jacob Mattinson | Apr 28, 2015 | Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a long-awaited proposed rule amending regulations implementing Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide guidance regarding the extent to which employers may use incentives to encourage employees to participate in wellness programs that include disability-related inquiries and/or medical examinations. The proposed rule provides insight into the EEOC’s approach to regulating employer wellness programs, so employers should consider reviewing their wellness programs for consistency with the proposed rule.

Read the full article.

DOL Provides Greater Flexibility for Distribution of Annual Participant Fee Disclosure Effective Immediately

by Diane Morgenthaler, Jeffrey Holdvogt and Maggie McTigue | Apr 23, 2015 | Employee Benefits, Employment

New guidance by the U.S. Department of Labor provides defined contribution plan administrators with additional flexibility to extend the 12-month period to a 14-month period for distribution of the required annual fee disclosure to plan participants and beneficiaries.

Read the full article.

UK Employment Alert: Holiday Pay – The Case Continues

by McDermott Will & Emery | Apr 16, 2015 | Employment

In the latest in a long-running series of cases on holiday pay, the Employment Tribunal has handed down its first judgment in Lock v British Gas Trading Limited.

This judgment confirms the principle that workers paid commission should receive holiday pay at a rate reflecting normal income, which can include commission, rather than basic salary only.

Read the full article.

German Parliament Enacts Law on Mandatory Quota for Women’s Representation in Businesses

by Bettina Holzberger and Dr. Sandra Urban-Crell | Apr 2, 2015 | Employment, Labor

On March 6, 2015, the German Bundestag passed a law, the so-called “women’s quota” (Frauenquote), which ensures the equal participation of women and men in the management of businesses as well as of public offices.

The Political Context

According to the German government, women are still heavily underrepresented in leading positions. There is no socio-political explanation for the fact that even though more than half of the German population and more than half of the Germans who graduate from college/university are female, this ratio does not even come close to the gender ratio in top management positions. The proportion of women in German supervisory boards currently amounts to only 19 percent; in management boards to an even poorer 6 percent. However, scientific research has proven that mixed-gender teams achieve better work results than same-gender teams.

The Quota System

Even if the new regulation is commonly referred to as “women’s quota”, (as in the medium-term it will likely counteract the underrepresentation of women) the law is legally constructed to ensure that each gender is represented by as many representatives as is necessary to meet the mandatory statutory minimum quota. In a nutshell, the enactment of the “women’s quota” has the following effects:

As of January 1, 2016, the share of women and men in supervisory boards of listed companies that are subject to co-determination in accordance with the German Co-Determination Act (Mitbestimmungsgesetz), the Coal, Iron and Steel Co-Determination Act (Montan-Mitbestimmungsgesetz) or the German Supplementary Co-Determination Act (Mitbestimmungsergänzungsgesetz), needs to reach each at least 30 percent.

In addition, the board of directors of companies that are listed or are subject to co-determination have to determine a target figure of the share of women in the two management levels directly below the board of directors. The companies have to try to reach these self-determined quotas in a certain period of time that must not be greater than five years, and the first period has to end on June 30, 2017 at the latest. The quota has to be determined by September 30, 2015 and must not be lower than the actual share of women in the moment of determination (if it is below 30 percent). The companies have to report and disclose their determined target figures, the period of time during which the target figures shall be achieved, and after that period has expired, whether the target figures have been achieved.

Sanctions in Case of Infringements

If the positions in supervisory boards of listed companies that are subject to co-determination are not awarded as per the statutory 30 percent quota, the election of supervisory board members will be void.

If the self-determined target figure in the remainder of companies is not reached, no direct sanctions will be triggered.

Start of a Cultural Change?

It remains to be seen, if the much invoked cultural change in German companies will indeed occur based on the new law, as only 100 companies in Germany will be affected by the new mandatory 30 percent. Moreover, the new law [...]

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C-Suite – Changing Tack on the Sea of Data Breach?

by McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 24, 2015 | Employment, Privacy and Data Security

The country awoke to what seems to be a common occurrence now: another corporation struck by a massive data breach. This time it was Anthem, the country’s second largest health insurer, in a breach initially estimated to involve eighty million individuals. Both individuals’ and employees’ personal information is at issue, in a breach instigated by hackers.

Early reports, however, indicated that this breach might be subtly different than those faced by other corporations in recent years. The difference isn’t in the breach itself, but in the immediate, transparent and proactive actions that the C-Suite took.

Unlike many breaches in recent history, this attack was discovered internally through corporate investigative and management processes already in place. Further, the C-Suite took an immediate, proactive and transparent stance: just as the investigative process was launching in earnest within the corporation, the C-Suite took steps to fully advise its customers, its regulators and the public at-large, of the breach.

Anthem’s chief executive officer, Joseph Swedish, sent a personal, detailed e-mail to all customers. An identical message appeared in a widely broadcast press statement. Swedish outlined the magnitude of the breach, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other investigative and regulatory bodies had already been advised and were working in earnest to stem the breach and its fallout. He advised that each customer or employee with data at risk was being personally and individually notified. In a humanizing touch, he admitted that the breach involved his own personal data.

What some data privacy and information security advocates noted was different: The proactive internal measures that discovered the breach before outsiders did; the early decision to cooperate with authorities and press, and the involvement of the corporate C-Suite in notifying the individuals at risk and the public at-large.

The rapid and detailed disclosure could indicate a changing attitude among the American corporate leadership. Regulators have encouraged transparency and cooperation among Corporate America, the public and regulators as part of an effort to stem the tide of cyber-attacks. As some regulators and information security experts reason, the criminals are cooperating, so we should as well – we are all in this together.

Will the proactive, transparent and cooperative stance make a difference in the aftermath of such a breach? Only time will tell but we will be certain to watch with interest.

DOL Extends FMLA Spousal Leave Rights to Same-Sex Spouses in All States

by Brian Tiemann, Jacob Mattinson and Todd Solomon | Mar 19, 2015 | Employment

On February 23, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division published its final rule regarding the definition of “spouse” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Specifically, the rule recognizes all lawful same-sex spouses for purposes of FMLA leave, regardless of the couple’s state of residence. This final rule takes effect on March 27, 2015.

The FMLA permits eligible employees to take unpaid leave to care for a spouse with a serious health condition. Under the final rule, the DOL adopts the “state of celebration” rule in determining who is considered a spouse for these purposes. Accordingly, an eligible employee who has married a same-sex spouse in any state is permitted to take advantage of spousal FMLA leave, regardless of whether the couple resides in a state where same-sex marriage is recognized. The DOL previously adopted a “state of residence” rule for purposes of the FMLA, meaning an employee could take advantage of FMLA leave to care for a same-sex spouse only if the couple resided in a state where same-sex marriage is recognized. The “state of celebration” rule is consistent with the approaches adopted by the DOL and the Internal Revenue Service for purposes of other laws governing employee benefits.

Employers must review and revise their FMLA leave policies in light of this new definition to ensure spousal FMLA leave is extended to same-sex couples residing in all states beginning March 27, 2015.

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