Employment, Benefits & Executive Compensation

New Year’s Resolutions to Keep You in Good Standing with DOL, Employees

Shlomo D. Katz (skatz@brownrudnick.com) — Tue, 3 Jan 2012 14:17:22 -0500

The U.S. Department of Labor is resolved to enforcing wage and hour laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In this article from Thompson's Employer’s Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act, Brown Rudnick lawyer Shlomo D. Katz offers up 12 mini-resolutions -- one per month -- for employers to make when it comes to wage and hour compliance.

To learn more about this topic, please read the article New Year’s Resolutions to Keep You in Good Standing with DOL, Employees on our website.

Final Regulations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:29:41 -0400

On May 25, 2011, the Final Regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act ("Regulations") published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") became effective. Although the Regulations retain the basic definition of disability contained in the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), the Regulations greatly expand the interpretation of the definition of disability. "Like the law they implement, the regulations are designed to simplify the determination of who has a ‘disability’ and make it easier for people to establish that they are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act," the EEOC’s website states. As a result, future disability discrimination cases will focus less on whether the claimant has a disability and more on whether the employer has fulfilled its obligations under the ADA.

For more information, please click here.

Does Your Employer Have Employees Located in Puerto Rico? What You Need to Know for 2011

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:55:30 -0400

When it comes to employer sponsored retirement plans, U.S. based employers may not be aware of the special considerations that relate to employees and participants residing in Puerto Rico ("Puerto Rico employees") or the special transitional relief for transfers between U.S. based retirement plans and Puerto Rico-only retirement plans issued by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") which expires December 31, 2011. While the types of employer sponsored retirement plans used in Puerto Rico are substantially similar to the retirement plans used in the U.S., there are some plan design differences primarily due to the fact that Puerto Rico has its own income tax system, the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2010 ("PRIRC").1 Accordingly, in designing retirement plans for its Puerto Rico employees, employers must carefully consider the qualification requirements and the tax implications of U.S. versus Puerto Rico source income.

For more information, please click here.

New York State Employers Must Comply with Wage Theft Prevention Act Commencing April 12, 2011

Thu, 7 Apr 2011 15:51:44 -0400

On April 12, 2011, New York State’s Wage Theft Prevention Act (the "Act") will overhaul New York’s current Labor Law. The Act applies to all individuals who receive W-2 compensation. It does not apply to owners of a company or partners of a partnership.

The Act increases certain notice requirements and provides for greater penalties for non-compliance with New York Labor Law. The heightened penalties increase the likelihood of expensive litigation, including class actions, against employers who violate the Labor Law.

For more information, please click here.

New DOL Rule for Disclosing Fees to Workers in 401k Retirement Plans

Thu, 9 Dec 2010 11:41:26 -0500

On October 14, 2010, as part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency in plan-related fees and expenses, the Department of Labor ("DOL") published final regulations that require plan fiduciaries to provide participants and beneficiaries, on a regular and periodic basis, sufficient information regarding the plan and its investment options, including fee and expense information, such that participants can make informed decisions with regard to the management of their accounts.

To learn more about these regulations, please read the alert New DOL Rule for Disclosing Fees to Workers in 401(k) Retirement Plans on our website.

Year-End Compliance Review is Suggested for All Qualified Plans

Wed, 1 Dec 2010 10:55:02 -0500

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, it is imperative that plan sponsors review their tax-qualified plans to determine whether any plan amendments are required to be adopted prior to December 31st. We also call your attention to the fact that all plan sponsors of individually designed plans with an EIN ending in a "0" or "5" should submit a determination letter application by January 31, 2011 as part of the IRS Cycle E determination letter filing period.

For more information, please click here.

Healthcare Reform Provisions Effective Jan. 1, 2011. Is Your Plan in Compliance?

Wed, 1 Dec 2010 10:41:33 -0500

With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the accompanying Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the "Acts"), this year marked significant changes in the way companies and their employees think about healthcare. Many of these healthcare reform provisions become effective January 1, 2011 for calendar year plans.1 We refer you to our previous Alert Guidance on Healthcare Reform Requirements is Being Offered for Employers for an overview of Healthcare Reform. This second Alert in our series on Healthcare Reform provides you with a summary of the considerations and action items which plan sponsors may need to complete as the year-end approaches.

For more information, please click here.

DOL Regulations for Disclosing Hidden Fees

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:38:16 -0400

Interim Final Regulations released by the Department of Labor require companies that provide services to employee retirement plans to disclose all fees, including hidden fees, related to those services.

On July 15, 2010, as part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency in plan-related fees and expenses, the Department of Labor ("DOL") published interim final regulations which require companies that provide services to retirement plans to disclose all fee information, including hidden fees, relating to those services. In addition, the rules provide fiduciary relief for a plan fiduciary who reasonably believes that the disclosure rules have been complied with, provided that it promptly requests any missing information upon discovery of noncompliance and notifies the DOL where appropriate. While these rules do not address disclosure to plan participants, they are intended to better equip a plan fiduciary in determining the reasonableness of service provider contracts.

For more information, please click here.

New Bills Make Significant Changes to Massachusetts Employment Laws

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:35:01 -0400

Last month, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law bills that significantly amend the Massachusetts Personnel Records Statute, limit what information an employer may seek on a job application, and narrow the criminal record information available through the Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI).

For more information, please click here.

Guidance on Healthcare Reform Requirements is Being Offered for Employers

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:15:48 -0400

September 23, 2010 marks the six-month anniversary of the enactment of the new health care reform, the primary purpose of which is to require every American to have healthcare coverage by 2014. It is also the date that several key provisions of the law will take effect. We are pleased to share with you the first alert in our Healthcare Alert Series which we hope will serve as useful references on employer compliance requirements and the healthcare reform initiatives that are the cornerstone of the new health care reform.

For more information, please click here.

Department of Labor & SEC Issue Guidance on Target Date Funds

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 13:56:52 -0400

On May 6, 2010, the Department of Labor ("DOL") and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") jointly issued an investor bulletin to help investors and plan participants better understand the operations and risks of target date fund investments. Subsequently, the SEC voted unanimously on June 16, 2010 to propose tougher disclosure rules on the investment companies that offer target date funds as an investment option. These proposals are designed to increase awareness of both the value and risks associated with target date funds.

For more information, please click here.

President Signs Into Law Pension Funding Reform Act

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:46:25 -0400

On June 25, 2010, President Obama signed into law, H.R. 3962, the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (the "Act"). The Act provides funding relief for both single and multiemployer defined benefit pension plans and provides sponsors of such plans additional time to amortize pension funding shortfalls.

For more information, please click here.

Department of Labor Interprets FMLA to Include Coverage for Same-Sex Partners & Other Non-Traditional Families

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 15:43:58 -0400

On June 22, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released an administrative interpretation clarifying the definition of "son and daughter" under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA"). As part of the Department of Labor’s continued efforts to promote work-family balance, its issued interpretation allows all qualified employees who provide care or financial support to a child to take unpaid family leave regardless of their legal or biological relationship to the child.

For more information, please click here.

Ten Common Assumptions about the FLSA that Can Land You in Hot Water

Pamela A. Reynolds (pareynolds@brownrudnick.com) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:15:51 -0400

Most employers have at least a general idea of the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the "FLSA"), however the road to FLSA compliance is riddled with pitfalls for the unwary, especially when it comes to wage and hour law.

Pamela A. Reynolds, an associate in Brown Rudnick's Washington's office, provides an overview of the more common mistakes made by unsuspecting employers involving FLSA compliance.

To learn more about these common mistakes and assumptions, please read the article titled Ten Common Assumptions about the FLSA that Can Land You in Hot Water on our website.

Department of Labor Finalizes Plan Asset Rule for Small Plans

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 15:16:30 -0500

Effective January 14, 2010, employers that sponsor pension and welfare plans with fewer than 100 participants may take up to seven (7) business days to deposit employee contributions to plan accounts.

An employer is required to deposit funds received or withheld from employee wages as contributions to certain benefit plans into the benefit plans on the earliest date on which the contributions can reasonably be segregated from the employer’s general assets. The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration, which is responsible for the enforcement of this issue, has taken a very aggressive position that "as soon as reasonably segregated" means, in some cases, one to two business days. The Employee Benefits Security Administration, acknowledged that there has been uncertainty as to how soon an employer must deposit employee contributions to the benefit plans in order to avoid the requirements associated with holding plan assets. To this end, the final rule creates a safe harbor to "provide greater clarity in remitting participant contributions to small pension and welfare plans in a timely manner," states Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis C. Borzi.

For more information, please click here.

President Obama Extends COBRA Subsidy Implications for Eligible Individuals and Plan Administrators

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:24:26 -0500

On December 21, 2009, President Obama signed legislation that effective immediately extends the COBRA subsidy period, originally provided as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), by six months and extends the eligibility period for the COBRA subsidy through February 28, 2010. This extension does not change the length of time an individual is eligible for COBRA continuation coverage itself, however. It only applies to subsidized premiums during the statutory 18-month COBRA continuation period.

For more information, please click here.

FLSA Advice for Tough Economic Times

(Shlomo D. Katz) skatz@brownrudnick.com — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:20:28 -0400

One of the mantras of the current economic downturn has been, "Do more with less." For some employees, this has meant, "Do more for less," i.e., work longer hours for lower wages. For other employees, this has meant, "Do less for less," i.e., be furloughed for (hopefully) short periods in order to save one’s job in the long run.
Employers considering pay cuts, furloughs and other cost-cutting measures must consider a host of laws, potentially including the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) among other federal and state statutes. Often employers want to know to how the Fair Labor Standards (FLSA) may affect furlough plans, and that is the subject of this article.

For more information, please click here.

Stimulus Bill Expands HIPAA Privacy and Security Requirements

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 14:49:42 -0400

In addition to the massive spending provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the "ARRA" or the "Stimulus Bill") the bill significantly expands the applicability of the Privacy and Security Rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These changes are likely to have a profound impact throughout the healthcare industry. Title XIII of the ARRA, entitled "Health Information Technology," also known as the "Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act)," purports to rectify certain perceived weaknesses within the privacy and security regime created by HIPAA. While there are a number of provisions with different effective dates, covered entities and business associates must comply with most of the new provisions discussed below by February 10, 2010.

For more information, please click here.