On the day of his inauguration -- January 20, 2021 -- President Biden signed an Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender identity or Sexual Orientation. This new order establishes that “All persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.” The order instructs heads of federal government agencies to review all Read More

On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued guidance on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. The guidance outlines OSHA’s recommendations for best practices and while it does not impose any additional legal requirements on employers, the guidance also reminds employers of their obligations under existing federal laws to provide a hazard-free workplace. To Read More

On January 15, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated guidance to its Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination, the first significant update since 2008.  In the updated manual, the EEOC provides important clarifications concerning Title VII religious discrimination laws in the workplace. These clarifications include the definition of “religion,” the types of organizations that Read More

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. This major funding bill included the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, which contained the following provisions affecting partial plan terminations and other COVID-19-related distributions: Partial Plan Termination Safe Harbor The CAA provides a temporary Read More

A final rule has been issued by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, and Treasury (the “agencies”) that allows grandfathered group health plans and insurers to make certain cost-sharing adjustments without losing grandfathered status under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Grandfathered plans are those that were in existence when the ACA was enacted on March 23, 2010. A few ACA provisions apply Read More

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. This major funding bill included the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020. Following are highlights of the provisions affecting employer-sponsored benefit plans: Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs) The CAA allows for certain relief pursuant to health care and Read More

On December 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published the final version of its new prohibited transaction class exemption for investment professionals: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02, Improving Investment Advice for Workers and Retirees.  The new class exemption is based on the DOL’s temporary policy adopted after a 2018 ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chamber of Commerce of Read More

With a new administration and Congress in place, there will undoubtedly be some significant changes to employment laws, and pay equity is likely to be key issue for employers to watch in 2021 and beyond. During his campaign, President Biden indicated his support of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R.7) as the next step in building upon a pay equity law passed by the Obama-Biden administration, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Read More

In Opinion Letter FLSA2020-20, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) provided guidance on paying overtime to live-in caregivers who work shifts of more than 24 hours based on an expected number of hours worked, and whether these overtime payments can be excluded from the regular rate and credited for overtime. The employer addressed in the Opinion Letter employs caregivers to provide in-home or Read More

In Opinion Letter FLSA2020-19, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) provided guidance on whether an employee who works remotely for part of the day and works at the office for the remainder of the day while doing personal tasks in between must receive compensation for travel time between home and office. There were two examples provided in the Opinion Letter: #1: Employee has a school Read More