Labor & Employment Law Update

In a recent decision with a nation-wide effect, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down certain provisions of the EEOC’s Wellness Program regulations.

As we have previously discussed, workplace wellness programs generally provide certain incentives to employees as part of programs intended to prevent illness and encourage healthier lifestyles.  But these programs can run afoul of various federal and state anti-discrimination laws, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ...

On Friday, the Department of Labor abandoned its six-part test for determining whether an intern must be paid, and replaced with the more employer-friendly “primary beneficiary test.” This announcement came less than a month after the Ninth Circuit became the fourth federal appellate court to expressly reject the DOL’s six-factor test in favor of the primary beneficiary test.

Background

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) employers must generally pay employees minimum wage for all hours worked, and overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a week. The FLSA, however ...

Over the past few years, cities, counties and local municipalities have been enacting laws and ordinances increasing the minimum wage and requiring paid sick leave for employees. While there have been growing pains with how these apply to normal hourly non-exempt employees and tipped servers, do these apply to motor carriers and employees who are truck drivers?  This can be the most frustrating legal response of all, “it depends.”

In most cases, minimum wage laws enacted by states follow the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”) and provide exemptions for motor carriers.  Indeed ...

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law as P.L. 115-97.  Hidden about halfway into the law, in Section 13307, is an amendment to the tax code on itemized deductions for individuals and corporations. Generally, current law permits employers to treat the costs of settlement payments and related attorney’s fees as a tax deductible business expense. However, the recent amendment eliminates the deduction in certain situations, stating:

No deduction shall be allowed under this chapter for — (1) any settlement or payment related to sexual harassment or ...

On December 22, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a 30-day extension of the deadlines for certain information reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

In IRS Notice 2018-06, the agency announced a 30-day automatic extension — until March 2, 2018 — for employers and insurers to provide 2017 IRS Forms 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage) and 1095-B (Health Coverage) to employees. The original due date was January 31. This extension is virtually identical to the extension provided last year for 2016 Forms.

Thirteen years ago the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 NLRB 646, which held that facially neutral work rules violated the National Labor Relations Act if employees would “reasonably construe” the rule to restrict the employees’ rights to engage in protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the Act. Following that decision, the Board used the “reasonably construe” standard to invalidate even the most well intentioned work rules. See e.g., T-Mobile USA Inc., April 29, 2016 (finding that ...

2017 is coming to an end, and with somewhat of a Bang! for labor relations moving forward under Trump’s NLRB.  In a matter involving PCC Structurals, Inc. and the Intern’l Assoc. of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (19-RC-202188), the NLRB this month overruled its 2011 decision in Specialty Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center of Mobile, 357 NLRB 934, and reinstated the traditional community-of-interest standard for determining an appropriate bargaining unit in union representation cases.  The essence of the 2017 decision is that the National Labor Relations Act mandates ...

With only 30-days to respond, employers should be watching their mail for Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer mandate penalty letters (IRS Letter 226J), coming before the end of 2017.

Recent updates to the “Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions (ESRPs) Under the Affordable Care Act” on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website indicate the agency is gearing up to begin enforcement of the ESRP provisions of the ACA, commonly known as the employer mandate. According to Q&As 55-58, “Making an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment,” the IRS ...

While marijuana use remains unlawful under federal law, 30 states and Washington D.C. have legalized some form of medical use.  Eight states and Washington D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana for adults.  More cities, states, and counties have taken steps towards legalizing adult recreational use and increased tax revenues, or to decriminalize possession of small amounts (this might be seen as a tacit legalization without the tax benefits).

Illinois may be next to legalize adult recreational use, with a majority of those polled in the state supporting legalization, and ...

At this time last year, employers across the country were preparing for implementation of the DOL Final Overtime Rule, which would have more than doubled the minimum salary level for exempt employees. At the eleventh hour, employers were granted a reprieve when the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas temporarily halted implementation, which was subsequently made permanent in August of this year.

In the interim, a presidential election occurred. And with the change in administration came uncertainty about what—if any—action the DOL would take ...