The Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently held a public hearing featuring a panel discussion on investment advice. Established by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, the IAC recommends regulatory actions to the SEC. After the public hearing, various IAC committee members expressed a willingness to recommend that the SEC take action to clarify fiduciary investment Read More

The California Court of Appeals recently found that a reduction in force (RIF) is not necessarily a sufficient reason to terminate an older worker. As a result, the Court revived a former Pacific World Corp. customer service manager’s age discrimination claim under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). However, the Court affirmed the dismissal of the remaining two claims -- disability discrimination Read More

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has referred to the reassignment or transfer of an employee as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a last resort. Reassignment may be an option to consider if the only other option is termination, especially if the employee suggests it or is open to the option. Employers must first try to provide reasonable Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a federal district court decision dismissing a female public employee’s sexual harassment suit based on her male coworker’s Instagram posts. The Court ruled that although the posts were not addressed, sent, or shown to the female employee, they nonetheless affected her workplace and could result in employer liability. The case is Okonowsky v. Garland, 9th Read More

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a private letter ruling concluding that employers may permit employees to allocate non-elective, discretionary employer contributions among various employee benefit programs without endangering the tax advantages of those programs. The affected employee benefit programs include 401(k) plans, retiree health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), health savings accounts Read More

Salesforce and class counsel recently filed a motion for preliminary settlement approval in a California district court. Under the terms of the non-reversionary settlement, Salesforce will pay $1.35 million to more than 50,000 class members in two Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) cases. Employees alleged that Salesforce, its board, and its investment committee violated their fiduciary duties under Read More