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On June 26, 2014, the U.S Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Noel Canning v. NLRB, concluding that President Barack Obama’s three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—Sharon Block, Richard Griffin, and Terence Flynn—were not valid. Accordingly, since three out of the […]
The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times with data from Nielsen BookScan on May 23. 1. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz with Joanne Gordon. Schultz tells of his second stint as the C.E.O. of Starbucks […]
When modifying a retirement plan or implementing an early retirement incentive program, most employers don’t announce the news until the details are finalized and the program is set to go. Now an important case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals details when you have to give employees advance notice of a new program or […]
If you file the Form 5500, you know what an odious exercise that can be. And you’d better get it right. Not only is the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) examining the form you file — so is the IRS. The DOL wants the forms to be complete and accurate, of course, […]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) concluded a busy fiscal year 2011 by reporting that it issued 368 decisions in contested cases while also pursuing two rulemaking initiatives during the year, which ended September 30. The NLRB issued a statement on November 8 summing up the year. Here are highlights: The Board considered 272 unfair […]
As the economy stagnates, many employers who were hoping to avoid layoffs must now finally consider them. Today’s expert, attorney Michael Rosen, sorts out the key issues. Rosen, a labor and employment partner with the law firm Foley Hoag LLP in Boston, says that any reduction in force (RIF) must be carefully planned and executed […]
A standard health plan identifier proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could cost health plans a total of up to $1.3 billion to implement. The proposed rules, released April 9, would establish a unique health plan identifier (HPID) for HIPAA-covered health plans (both group health plans and insurers), and an […]
Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book The Truth about Hiring the Best by Cathy Fyock. The review highlights a few of the book’s truths about hiring, interviewing, and dealing with employee relations. Looking to pick up the latest thinking on hiring? Pick up The Truth About Hiring the Best (Truth About), a quick […]
As noted in this earlier blog post, the IRS and Treasury Department recently issued proposed rules that they hope will better define governmental plan status. They’ve been seeking comments from the governmental plan community and now have scheduled public hearings on the matter on July 9 and 10. Both public hearings will take place 10 […]
When you ask an employee 40 years old or over to sign a severance agreement that includes a release of potential age discrimination claims, there’s an array of strict requirements that must be met. For many employers, figuring out how to comply with these rules has been confusing-especially in cases of downsizing through group terminations […]