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Government efforts to bring 403(b) retirement plans up to regulatory par with 401(k) plans has resulted in a rough transition for 403(b) plan sponsors, and in recognition of that fact, an ERISA advisory council gave the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) five recommendations to help ease the compliance burden. Background Over the years, many 403(b) […]
What’s Taxmageddon? Taxmageddon comes at the end of 2012, when the payroll tax and unemployment benefits extension ends and at the same time we’re likely to need another debt limit increase. If no action is taken, there will be dramatic cuts in spending that are built into the federal budget process, Aitken says. Aitken offered […]
Tips are the property of the employee, whether or not that employee has taken a tip credit under the Fair Labor Standards Act. So states Labor Department Fact Sheet #15A, released by the Wage and Hour Division in February. The fact sheet reflects tip credit regulations DOL updated in May 2011. Under the regulation, an […]
As the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division steps up enforcement initiatives, the need for employers to monitor their wage and hour practices is growing. Speaking at the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2012 Employment Law and Legislative Conference March 5, Tammy McCutchen of Littler Mendelson in Washington, a former Bush appointee at DOL, […]
The Labor Department underestimated the cost of its proposal extending minimum wage and overtime protections to in-home caregivers underestimates, according to an industry group representing in-home care franchise owners. If the proposal is implemented as planned, the study concludes, both the quality of care provided to seniors and the financial health of the in-home care […]
Supreme Court Review While the case the Supreme Court will hear involves public colleges and universities, the ruling could eventually impact other courts’ decisions on affirmative action programs outside of higher education, notes BLR Legal Editor Susan Schoenfeld. In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in Grutter v. Bollinger that public colleges and universities could not […]
The failure to administer COBRA continuation coverage notices correctly can cost employers and plan administrators money, time and aggravation, says COBRA expert Paul M. Hamburger, Esq. of Proskauer Rose LLP. He provides four tips they can use to help avoid COBRA notice missteps: (1) prepare clear, accurate and complete COBRA notices; (2) be sure to […]
The broad scope of the Fair Labor Standards Act provides seemingly endless opportunities for debate. The fact that the Supreme Court agreed to hear Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. later this year (a case out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit involving worker classification) on the heels of its ruling in […]
The U.S. Labor Department has updated its model forms and notices relating to Family and Medical Leave Act certification. Except for a new expiration date — Feb. 28, 2015 — the new documents are identical to those that expired at the end of last year. Here are links to the forms. WH-380-E Certification of Health […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiscal year 2013 budget request continues many priorities emphasized in the previous year’s budget, such as the effort to combat worker misclassification, while ending or consolidating some programs aimed at helping women and veterans find jobs. The DOL’s 2013 budget request comes in at $12 billion. The 2012 request […]