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Exploring Wage Deductions in California, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, D.C.

October 12, 2017 | Blog | By Natalie C. Groot

Employers often struggle over compliance with state wage deduction laws, and these potential violations carry with them considerable penalties. In Massachusetts, for example, employers face triple damages for violations of wage and hour laws.
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Can Employees Pay for Cord Blood Storage with an HRA, FSA or HSA?

October 11, 2017 | Blog | By Patricia Moran

The blood remaining in the umbilical cord after childbirth contains stems cells which may be used in a variety of medical treatments. Many parents of newborns are seeking to save this “cord blood”, either with the hopes of curing known ailments, as insurance against future illnesses, or for use in yet-to-be-discovered therapies.
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Association Health Plans—Can The Trump Administration Expand Access Without Congress?

October 11, 2017 | Blog

In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has been considering allowing health insurance to be purchased across state lines and expanding access to “Association Health Plans” (AHPs) that could take economic advantage of cross-border purchasing. President Trump is expected to issue an executive order this week to make that happen without legislation.
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New York Paid Family Leave Law – A Comprehensive Breakdown for Employers

October 11, 2017 | Blog | By Alexander Song

Beginning on January 1, 2018, New York employers will have to provide paid family leave to their employees. This post provides a comprehensive overview for employers to better understand their obligations under New York’s new Paid Family Leave law (PFL) and its accompanying regulations
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Reminder: New York City Ban on Salary History Inquiries Takes Effect October 31st

October 5, 2017 | Blog | By Alexander Song

Beginning on October 31st, New York City employers will be prohibited from inquiring about or relying on salary history during the hiring process. As a reminder, this ban makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, employment agency, or employee or agent of the employer to
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What Does the EEOC’s Lawsuit Against Estee Lauder Mean for Parental Leave Policies?

September 27, 2017 | Blog

Last month, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against Estee Lauder in a Pennsylvania federal court alleging that Estee Lauder’s parental leave policy discriminates against employees on the basis of gender by providing unequal benefits to biological mothers and fathers.
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Fractal Geometry, Actuarial Risk, and §1332 Waivers—The Role of the States in Reforming Health Care

September 25, 2017 | Blog

At this writing, the prospects for success of the latest Republican effort to replace the Affordable Care Act appear bleak—but the Graham-Cassidy bill on which the GOP has pinned its last-ditch hopes highlights a major political and policy flashpoint in the fight to repeal, replace, or repair the law: the degree to which states should be free to innovate and experiment by adopting non-standard health insurance product designs in their individual and small group markets.
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Please Join Us for "Handling Human Resources Data Under Privacy Shield and the GDPR"

September 18, 2017 | Blog | By Tahisha Fugate

On Thursday, October 5, 2017, Mintz Levin will host a webinar entitled "Handling Human Resources Data Under Privacy Shield and the GDPR," which will address EU laws concerning the transfer of employee personal data to the US and the penalties for getting it wrong, which are set to increase dramatically when the GDPR goes into effect in May 2018.
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The Bubbler: September 6, 2017

September 6, 2017 | Blog | By Natalie C. Groot

What is happening in employment law? We will be providing you with quick employment law updates on a bi-monthly basis in a new series called “The Bubbler.”  It will let you know what’s what and who’s who in the continually-evolving, ever-important, hard-to-keep-track-of employment law world.
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Employers Receive Important Overtime Law News Just Before Labor Day

September 1, 2017 | Blog

Short of a successful (but highly unlikely) appeal, the Obama-era overtime rule is now officially no longer.  That rule would have required employers to pay employees a little more than $47,000 annually to qualify under one of the Fair Labor Standards Act's white collar exemptions.
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Employer’s Accessing of Employee’s Personal Email Account from Company Mobile Phone May Have Violated Stored Communications Act

August 28, 2017 | Blog

In Levin v. ImpactOffice LLC, the federal court in Maryland ruled that a former employee’s claim survived a motion to dismiss where she alleged that her former employer violated the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”) when it accessed personal emails in her Google Gmail account after she surrendered her company-issued mobile phone.
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What In-House Counsel Need To Know About Their Form Arbitration Clauses – Ten Foundation Questions

August 19, 2017 | Blog

Mintz Levin continues to be at the forefront of issues related to contractual arbitration provisions, helping clients optimize their dispute resolution and risk mitigation processes. Check out our sister blog's latest post, which pieces together a top-10 list of issues in-house counsel should consider when crafting these provisions.
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The Ninth Circuit Weighs in on ERISA’s Plan Document and Summary Plan Description Requirements: Mull v. Motion Picture Ind. Health Plan

August 18, 2017 | Blog

Mull v. Motion Picture Ind. Health Plan educates employers on the basics of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governing plan documents and summary plan descriptions. The lessons are sobering, particularly as they relate to group health plans.
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Massachusetts Employers Face $200 Million Increase in Health Care Costs under MassHealth Amendments

August 17, 2017 | Blog

On August 1, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law H. 3822, “An Act Further Regulating Employer Contributions to Health Care” (the “Act”). The purpose of the Act is to shore up the finances of the Commonwealth’s Medicaid program and its Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which in Massachusetts are combined into a single program called MassHealth.
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What Can You Say in the Workplace? Whatever Your Employer Allows You to Say ….

August 16, 2017 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

The recent controversy involving the Google employee fired for challenging his employer’s diversity policies highlights some misconceptions concerning free speech rights in the workplace.
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Another Chapter in California’s PAGA Saga

August 15, 2017 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

California’s PAGA Saga continues with a pair of recently issued appellate decisions impacting these legally created class action-like lawsuits. Sounds like something our favorite attorney Bob Loblaw would be part of.

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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Insurers’ Duty to Defend Does Not Extend to Counterclaims

August 4, 2017 | Blog

A recent decision by Massachusetts’ highest court provides another reason why employers should carefully review their employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policies.
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Is “Class Arbitration” an Oxymoron — a Shoe Drops in the Second Circuit

August 1, 2017 | Blog

In a recent series of articles, we asked whether “class arbitration” — meaning the utilization of a Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 class action protocol in an arbitration proceeding — is ultimately viable. Given the nature of arbitration, we suggested that it arguably is not.
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Vacation Float: Managing (and Recouping) Unearned Vacation Time

July 26, 2017 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

Summertime is vacation time. And vacation time means headaches for employers who engage in vacation float. Vacation “float” is the practice of advancing vacation to employees before they actually accrue it under an employer’s vacation policy.
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New York State Appellate Court Holds Class Action Waivers Violate the NLRA While Employers Await Definitive Ruling From Supreme Court

July 25, 2017 | Blog | By George Patterson

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in October on whether class and collective action waivers are enforceable. While employers await the Supreme Court's decision, other courts continue to weigh in on the matter.
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