As the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreads on a global scale, many international and U.S. business enterprises are reevaluating their vaccination and mask policies. One company that has decided to delay moving forward currently is internet giant Google, which postponed the date when its employees must return to the office until after January 10, 2022. Google was also one of the first Read More
OIG Report Says USCIS Must Improve Its Electronic Verification Process
In August of 2021, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) submitted a final report to Ur M. Jaddou, the Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), entitled USCIS Needs to Improve Its Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Process. The report found that the E-Verify system used by the USCIS does not have the capacity to accurately Read More
New Legislation Would Raise Federal Minimum Wage To $15
In January 2021, the “Raise the Wage Act of 2021” was introduced in Congress. It aims to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour by 2025. It would be the first increase in twelve years, the longest such period since 1938. Industry organizations have expressed concern over potential confusion the wage increase could cause, while worker advocates urged legislators to immediately pass the Read More
New Jersey Targets Employee Misclassification
After Governor Phil Murphy signed into law an array of legislation in 2020, designed to identify and penalize New Jersey business enterprises for the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, New Jersey passed four new laws in the summer of 2021 to lend support to these earlier efforts to reduce worker misclassification. Misclassification has been a "growing problem" in New Jersey, Sen. Fred Madden, Read More
Law Professor Refuses Vaccination, Challenges University COVID Policy
As the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus rages on,, many business and educational institutions in the United States are requiring their employees and students, respectively, to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, some individuals who resist reasonable efforts to thwart the continued spread of the virus may also be raising reasonably valid constitutional issues and concerns. In early August in Fairfax, Virginia, a Read More
New Labor Department Office Would Reform And Modernize Unemployment Insurance System
Late this summer, The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it would establish a new office to help states modernize their unemployment insurance (UI) systems. The DOL created the Office of Unemployment Insurance Modernization (OUIM), to provide oversight for the management of $2 billion allocated to the DOL for the primary purpose of improving and revising state UI systems with significant reforms. This Read More
September 2021 Newsletter | HBL Wishes You a Happy Fall!
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Senators Urge Biden Administration to Make It Easier for Americans to Buy Prescription Drugs from Canada
On July 26, 2021, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Angus King (I-ME), and Susan Collins (R-ME) sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) encouraging the agency to support policies that will allow Americans to personally import certain prescription drugs from Canada. In the letter, the senators noted that, “Americans, on average, pay the highest prescription drug Read More
IRS Updates Correction Procedures for Qualified Plans
Recently, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2021-30 to update its guidance on the correction program under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). Under EPCRS, plan sponsors are permitted to correct failures using one of three correction methods: the Self-Correction Program (SCP), the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP), and the Audit Closing Agreement Program (“Audit CAP”). Rev. Proc. 2021-30 Read More
IRS Has New Requirements for Employer Discretionary Matches
Every six years, sponsors of 401(k) plans that utilize pre-approved plan documents must update those documents and file them with the IRS for approval. Then, employers using these pre-approved plan documents must adopt the updated pre-approved plan. Employers must adopt the most recent Cycle 3 restatement by no later than July 31, 2022. The IRS has new Cycle 3 restatement requirements for employers that utilize a Read More
