In 2023, New York State and New York City amended several labor and employment laws about which employers should be aware to ensure that their policies and procedures remain compliant. For more detailed information, check out the article here.Continue Reading New York State and City Labor and Employment Updates
In late 2022, Congress passed the SECURE Act 2.0, which, along with other items, introduced a new rule requiring that catch-up contributions made by highly compensated employees be made on a Roth after-tax basis only. Less than one year later, and only a few months before this new rule was to go into effect, the IRS issued Notice 2023-62, which provides highly anticipated transition relief for the Roth catch-up contribution rule by extending the compliance period by two years.Continue Reading Just Dropped: IRS Provides Relief on Roth Contributions for HCEs
In January 2022, the Supreme Court held in Hughes v. Northwestern University, 142 S. Ct. 737, that courts must apply a context-specific inquiry to determine whether plan participants state plausible breach of fiduciary duty claims against plan fiduciaries for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) when selecting and monitoring investment funds and recordkeeping services under a plan. In so doing, the Supreme Court reversed the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Divane v. Northwestern University, 953 F.3d 980 (7th Cir. 2020) (now known as Hughes), stating “The Seventh Circuit erred in relying on the participants’ ultimate choice over their investments to excuse allegedly imprudent decisions by [Northwestern fiduciaries].” 142 S. Ct. at 742. Hughes is pending before the Seventh Circuit on remand.Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Applies Hughes v. Northwestern University to Dismiss
In the UK, and most of Europe, employees have statutory rights to holiday leave and the question of holiday pay (and how to calculate it) has been a challenging issue for a long time. The Supreme Court in London has provided much-needed clarity by ruling in Harpur Trust v Brazel that holiday pay for part-year
Widening the split among circuit courts, the Third Circuit recently rejected attempts by two out-of-state employees to join an FLSA collective action as opt-in plaintiffs because their claims did not “arise out of or relate to” the defendant’s contacts with the state in which the case is pending. Continue Reading The Third Circuit Decides “We’re (Not) Nationwide”
Starting January 1, 2023, Illinois employers are required to provide employees with unpaid bereavement leave following the loss of a family member or planned family addition. The Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA) amends Illinois’ Child Bereavement Leave Act of 2016 (CBLA) and adds Illinois to a short list of states (which includes only Oregon and Maryland) that require employers to provide for bereavement leave.Continue Reading State Bereavement Laws and their Impact on Employers
Paid Time Off Requirements
As of July 1, 2022, West Hollywood, California, home to the famous Sunset Strip and Melrose shopping district, is now one of a handful of cities in California that requires employers to provide paid time off to employees (rather than just paid sick time).
West Hollywood’s Minimum Wage Ordinance, passed late last year, requires that qualifying employees who work at least two hours of work per week in the City are entitled to paid time off. Full-time employees who work at least 40 hours per week are entitled to 96 hours of paid time off per year, totaling 12 full days off. The time is pro-rated for employees who work less than 40 hours per week.Continue Reading West Hollywood Requires Paid Leave and Hikes Minimum Wage
Does your company’s business expense reimbursement policy address the work-from-home situations that have become the new (at least temporarily) norm? Continue Reading Expense Reimbursement Policies in the New World