Workforce Bulletin

Our colleague Michelle Capezza of Epstein Becker Green authored an article in Confero, titled “Managing Employee Benefits in the Face of Technological Change.”

Following is an excerpt - click here to download the full article in PDF format:

There are many employee benefits challenges facing employers today, from determining the scope and scale of traditional benefits programs to offer that will attract, motivate and retain multigenerational employees, to embracing new models for defining and providing benefits, while simultaneously managing costs. In the midst of ...

The IRS recently released the Tax Exempt and Government Entities FY 2018 Work Plan (the “2018 Work Plan”) which provides helpful information for sponsors of tax-qualified retirement plans about the focus of the IRS’ 2018 compliance efforts for employee benefit plan.  While the 2018 Work Plan is a high-level summary, it does address IRS compliance strategies for 2018 and should assist plan sponsors in administering their retirement plans.

The Work Plan provides that for fiscal year 2018, the IRS compliance strategies include examination of plans that:

1. Have transferred their ...

In a decision that will be celebrated by employers in the Seventh Circuit struggling with employee requests for post-Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave as an accommodation under the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Seventh Circuit in Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 18197 (7th Cir. Sept. 20, 2017), recently held that an employer did not violate the ADA by firing an employee instead of extending his leave after he exhausted all leave under the FMLA.  This holding – finding that extended long-term leave is not a reasonable ...

New York State has issued proposed regulations extending existing regulations requiring banks and other financial institutions to have in place a comprehensive cybersecurity program to credit reporting agencies.  Governor Mario Cuomo announced that “The Equifax breach was a wakeup call and with this action New York is raising the bar for consumer protections that we hope will be replicated across the nation.”

Under the proposed regulations, every consumer reporting agency that assembles, evaluates or maintains a consumer credit report on NYS consumers must register with ...

On September 13, 2017, California legislators passed California Bill AB 450, also known as the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (“the Act”).  The Act is one of three immigration bills currently awaiting Governor Jerry Brown’s approval or veto.[1]

The Act imposes specific restrictions on employers in instances where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents seek access to their workplaces for immigration enforcement. Specifically, the Act prohibits employers from (1) voluntarily consenting to allow an ICE agent to enter nonpublic areas of the ...

On July 19, 2017, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board (“WCB” or the “Board”) issued its final regulations (“Final Regulations”) for the New York State Paid Family Leave Benefits Law (“PFLBL” or the “Law”). The WCB first published regulations to the PFLBL in February 2017, and then updated those regulations in May (collectively, the “Prior Regulations”).

While the Final Regulations did clarify some outstanding questions, many questions remain, particularly pertaining to the practical logistics of implementing the Law, such as the tax ...

Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in cases involving the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) “80/20 Rule” regarding what is commonly referred to as “sidework” in the restaurant industry.  Agreeing with the arguments made by our new colleague Paul DeCamp, among others, the Ninth Circuit issued a decidedly employer-friendly decision.  In so doing, it disagreed with the Eighth Circuit, potentially setting the issue up for resolution by the United States Supreme Court.

As those in the restaurant industry are aware, restaurant workers and other tipped ...

When:  Thursday, September 14, 2017    8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Where:  New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019

Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing will focus on the latest developments in labor and employment law, including:

• Immigration
• Global Executive Compensation
• Artificial Intelligence
• Internal Cyber Threats
• Pay Equity
• People Analytics in Hiring
• Gig Economy
• Wage and Hour
• Paid and Unpaid Leave
• Trade Secret Misappropriation
• Ethics

We will start the day with two morning Plenary Sessions. The first session is kicked off ...

While the ADA finished celebrating its 27^th anniversary at the end of July, for plaintiffs looking to bring website accessibility complaints in New York the party is still ongoing.  Following on the heels of last month’s decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Five Guys, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in Andrews vs. Blick Art Materials, LLC, recently denied a motion to dismiss a website accessibility action, holding that Title III of the ADA (“Title III”), the NYS Human Rights Law and the ...

On June 14, 2017, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law a bill that amends Delaware’s Code relating to unlawful employment practices to prohibit employers from (i) engaging in salary-based screening of prospective employees where prior compensation must satisfy certain minimum or maximum criteria or (ii) seeking the compensation history of a prospective employee from the prospective employee or a current or former employer (the “Law”). Under the Law, “compensation” is defined broadly to include wages, benefits, or other compensation.

Similar to the New ...