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Full 9th Circuit Refuses to Review California’s Same-sex Marriage Ban

Employers can expect continued uncertainty regarding whether they will need to adjust their plans, documents and policies to accommodate same-sex spouses. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 5 refused a petition that the full bench of the court rehear Perry v. Brown, Nos. 10-16696, 11-16577. That lets stand the ruling by a […]

News Notes: Employee Forced To Quit For Revealing Prison Abuses

After Terence Allen, a Hawaii Department of Corrections physician, publicly disclosed the alleged mistreatment of inmates, he was investigated by the internal affairs division, denied a promotion and locked out of the facility. The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now ruled that the department retaliated against him for exercising his free speech rights. […]

News Notes: Bank Agrees To Pay $26 Million For Poor 401(K) Investments

First Union Corp. has agreed to pay a whopping $26 million to current and former employees to settle two lawsuits accusing the bank of forcing workers to invest their 401(k) retirement savings in poorly performing mutual funds. The employees charged that First Union included second-rate investment funds in its in-house 401(k) plan and then used […]

Top U.S. Court Takes Case to Resolve Limits on Health Plan Recoveries

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on June 25 to decide whether an employee health plan is subject to equitable limits when it demands reimbursement of benefits paid to care for a covered employee who also recovers money from third parties. A 2011 ruling on this issue by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals troubled […]

401(K) Cashouts a Popular Choice for Departing Workers

A new study by HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates shows that many workers cash out their 401(k) plans when they leave their jobs. The study, which looked at nearly 200,000 workers with 401(k) plans, found that 45 percent elected to take a cash distribution when departing, while the remainder either kept their savings in their […]

Tool of the Week: Independent Contractor Guide

The benefits of using nonemployee workers such as independent contractors are obvious: you don’t have to provide a contractor with expensive employee benefits, and you retain greater flexibility to quickly alter your workforce as needs change. But if you make a mistake and incorrectly classify an employee as an independent contractor, the consequences can be […]

News Notes: Few Employers Comply With Little-Known Parking Cash-Out Law

Under an obscure law, certain employers that provide free parking must give cash to workers who don’t drive to work. The law applies to employers with 50 or more employees who are located in an area that violates air quality standards and who subsidize employee parking spaces the employer doesn’t own. But a new study […]

OFCCP Finalizes “E-Cruiting” Rule

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces antidiscrimination and affirmative action requirements for federal contractors, has issued a final rule defining who qualifies as an “Internet Applicant” for purposes of employer recordkeeping. The OFCCP’s new rule is designed to clear the confusion surrounding how to determine who’s an applicant, in light of […]