Employment

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently released final regulations1 containing modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules (Omnibus Rule).

New York City employers beware: The New York City Council has once again acted to expand the nation’s broadest anti-discrimination law – this time to prohibit discrimination against New York City’s unemployed.

As 2014 rapidly approaches, employers of all sizes and all industries are working hard to avoid the Affordable Care Act’s (the “Act”) Employer Mandate, now appearing in the Internal Revenue Code, Section 4980H.

In a set of Frequently Asked Questions1 (FAQs) posted to the Department of Labor’s website on January 24, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the “Departments”) put a stop to an approach to health plan design under which employers furnish employees with a pre-determined dollar amount (a “defined contribution”) that employees can apply toward the purchase of health insurance coverage in the individual health insurance market.

On January 4 and 14, we blogged about the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012’s (ATRA) increases in the pre-tax contribution that commuters may make towards van pools as well as transit passes.

Employment lawyers anticipate that employers’ social media policies and their use of independent contractors will be hot button issues in the New Year, much like they were in 2012. Recently Mintz Levin’s Mitch Danzig spoke about social media, independent contractors, and the law with George Chamberlin, executive editor of the Daily Transcript in San Diego, CA.

Beginning in 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act) requires “applicable large employers” (i.e., employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees) to either offer group health insurance coverage to their full-time employees or (potentially) pay a fine.

Employment lawyers anticipate that employers’ social media policies and their use of independent contractors will be hot button issues in the New Year, much like they were in 2012.

On January 4, we blogged about the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012’s (the “Act”) increases in the pre-tax contribution that commuters may make towards van pools as well as transit passes. On January 11, 2013, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2013-15, which clarifies that the 2013 limit for van pools and transit passes is $245, effective January 1, 2013.

On Tuesday, January 8, 2013, the Patrick administration proposed legislation that will repeal the Massachusetts Fair Share Law effective June 30, 2013. In effect since 2006, the Fair Share Law requires companies with Massachusetts employees to either provide compliant medical coverage to full time employees, or pay a penalty of $295 per year per employee.

On Tuesday, January 8, 2013, the Deval Patrick administration filed An Act to Support Employers in the Commonwealth. This new legislation, if enacted, will repeal the Fair Share Contribution program effective June 30, 2013.

Christmas came a few days early for Iowan employers, when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a male employer acted legally when he fired a female employee because he had become irresistibly attracted to her – a situation the employer’s wife, also an employee, found objectionable.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “Act”), signed on January 3, increases the pre-tax contribution that commuters may make towards van pools as well as transit passes. The IRS allows employees to pay for parking, transit pass (e.g. for subway, bus or ferry), and commuter highway vehicle (generally, vanpool) expenses on a pre-tax basis, up to a monthly limit.

The National Labor Relations Board’s closed out an already busy year addressing social media’s impact on employee rights in non-unionized workplaces (see our prior related blog entries here, here, here, and here) with yet another social media ruling – this time involving Facebook.

One of the year’s hottest topics in privacy and workplace security pertains to bring your own device– BYOD. My colleagues Cynthia Larose and Narges Kakalia recently wrote on this topic, and published in the New York Law Journal.

Commencing in 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act) requires that health insurance coverage provided in the individual and small group markets, including coverage offered through American Health Benefit Exchanges, provide “essential health benefits.”

It’s that time of year when we look ahead at the employment and labor laws that will go in effect in the New Year. My colleagues Mike Arnold, Kate Beattie, and Brandon Willenberg have assembled this forecast of the new laws that employers and human resources professionals in California, Massachusetts, and New York may need to comply with in 2013.

The NLRB has again weighed in on workplace social media policies.  And, consistent with its recent decisions in Costco Wholesale Corp. and Karl Knauz Motors, Inc., found DISH Network’s social media policy unlawful.

With Hurricane Sandy now one week behind us (and winter storm season staring us in the face), we thought now is a good time for a refresher on the impact of a natural disaster or other emergency on federal and state wage and hour laws.

Tomorrow millions of employees around the nation will head to the polls to vote in the general election. No matter who wins, employers should make sure they are aware of the applicable voting leave and coercion laws to ensure that they don’t lose.