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Departments Release Health Care Reform Regulations on Preventive Care
On Monday, July 19, the Federal Register published interim final regulations from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury requiring new health plans beginning on or after September 23, 2010, to cover certain evidence-based preventive care without cost sharing. In other words, plans cannot charge patients copayments, coinsurance, or […]
Certain religious employers get a reprieve from ACA’s contraceptive mandate from Supreme Court
On New Year’s Eve, just hours before the healthcare reform (also known as the Affordable Care Act or ACA) contraceptive mandate requirement was supposed to go into effect, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a stay and gave the federal government until Friday to respond to the Court. The stay applies to a limited group […]
News Flash: Domestic Violence Leave Law
Gov. Davis recently signed a new law (A.B. 2357) that expands the grounds for domestic violence victims to take unpaid time off from work, such as for counseling and relocation. However, some provisions of the new law, which has separate rules for employers with 25 or more workers, are ambiguous and may require legislative […]
News Bulletin: Pending Legislation Affecting Employers
The State Assembly recently passed a bill (AB196) that would prohibit employment discrimination based on perceived gender, which includes trans-gender individuals and those who do not fit gender stereotypes. In Washington, the House passed a bill (HR 100) that would permit employers to offer retirement investment advice to employees and require that employers provide plan […]
News Flash: Court Raises The Stakes For Using Illegal Noncompete Agreements
Contracts that bar employees from working for competitors after they leave your company are unenforceable under California law in most cases. And now such provisions pose an even bigger problem for employers. That’s because a Court of Appeal has recently ruled that you can be sued for insisting employees sign a noncompete agreement as a […]
HHS Regs Offer Protection for Health Care Providers’ Moral Beliefs
In a remarkably last-minute fashion, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued final regulations protecting health care providers who withhold medical care based on conflicting moral beliefs. The rule, which covers federally funded health care providers, takes effect January 18, 2009 — the required 30 days after its under-the-wire December 19 […]
News Flash: Temporary Workers
A lawsuit filed by 94 temporary employees of Sacramento County who sought retroactive benefits was resolved under a $1.4 million settlement. The workers claimed the county illegally classified them as temporary employees, thereby denying them benefits. They said that under the county charter, temporary workers may be employed for only 30 days, whereas many of […]
Pay Bias: New U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Limits Old Claims, But Caution Still Required
News Notes: Sex Harassment Complaints To EEOC Are Leveling Off
Data compiled by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicate that sex harassment complaints received by the agency and its state counterparts have leveled off. Between 1992 and 1995, the number of complaints jumped from 10,532 per year to 15,549, and 15,836 charges were filed in 2000. The EEOC found no reasonable cause to believe […]