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Four groups — the ERISA Industry Committee, the American Benefits Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable — filed an amicus brief July 26 to urge 2nd Circuit judges to support the principle of deference to plan administrators’ decisions over benefit plans. When plans reserve discretionary authority in plan documents, courts must […]
IBM¹s recent announcement that it was converting from a traditional pension plan to a cash-balance plan triggered angry employee protests and age discrimination allegations. Now, government agencies and federal legislators are vowing to take a closer look at the impact cash-balance plans have on older workers. Unlike traditional pension plans in which workers earn most […]
Neil Bergt was president and chairman of the board of directors for the airline MarkAir. He participated in the company-sponsored profit-sharing plan and an employee stock ownership plan. The company then created an ERISA retirement plan that allowed employees who were pilots or former pilots to participate.
“In the US, nearly 13 lawsuits are filed every minute, and sometimes it seems as if most of them are in California,” says attorney Christopher C. Hoffman. Some special California rules that confuse HR managers are those around travel pay, deductions for tools, required uniforms, and pay stubs.
Employers with nonunionized workforces once went about their business without giving much thought to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). But with union membership in decline, a more activist Board is branching out, and now even nonunion employers need to be on guard. As union membership dwindles, the NLRB is emphasizing that the National Labor […]
The other night, I got a thoughtful, heartfelt message from a colleague reminding me and others to take time to tell our loved ones exactly how we feel about them. You see, days earlier, his mother had suffered a stroke, and he had spent the time since at her bedside. His message was that we […]
Once a terminated employeehas signed a release promising not to sue and has cashed theirseverance check, you probably think you are free from their legalclaims against you. In most cases, you’d be right. But you couldbe in for an expensive surprise if the employee is 40 years orolder and your paperwork isn’t perfect. That’s because […]
Overtime in California can be a complex calculation, not the least of which is because the state laws for calculating overtime differ from federal law. This issue remains a priority because overtime violation complaints are on the rise. –Claims for unpaid overtime and other missed pay obligations are definitely the lawsuit of the day.– Allen […]
Lately, the news has led with stories about the alleged Russian hacking of various American political organizations, ostensibly for the purpose of influencing the 2016 elections. U.S. law enforcement has surmised that the Russian government orchestrated a number of incursions into networks controlled by the major political parties and that they used or disclosed certain […]
By Kelley E. Kaufman, Esq. These days, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is on the lookout for both inflexible leave of absence policies and no-fault attendance policies. While few employers welcome news of a targeted enforcement initiative, the best defense is a good offense. According to the EEOC, the Americans With Disabilities Act requires […]