Employment

Viewpoints

Filter by:

New York Paid Family Leave Law Regulations Become Effective

July 21, 2017 | Blog | By Alexander Song

Regulations implementing the Paid Family Leave Act became effective on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. No substantive changes were made to the proposed regulations that were published back in May 2017 (which we addressed here).
Read more

Massachusetts: Medical Marijuana as a Reasonable Accommodation in the Workplace

July 20, 2017 | Blog

As our readers know, we have been monitoring decisions regarding the ability of employers to take disciplinary action against employees for using marijuana at work (like this decision here).
Read more

Bankers Life and Casualty: Illinois Appellate Court finds Connecting to Old Colleagues via LinkedIn Does not Constitute Unlawful Solicitation

July 17, 2017 | Blog | By Robert Sheridan

New job to-do list: (1) send goodbye email; (2) attend goodbye party; (3) update LinkedIn account; and (4) then use said LinkedIn account to send old colleagues new contact information. This sounds like a pretty standard modus operandi for the modern job-hopper, right?
Read more

Fifth Circuit Holds Reporting to Work Regularly is Essential Function of Attorney’s Job Under the ADA

July 12, 2017 | Blog | By George Patterson

In a decision that will provide some solace to employers asked to permit remote work as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that the ADA did not require the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office to permit a litigation attorney to work from home indefinitely.
Read more

In the Latest Episode of The Overtime Rule Soap Opera: DOL Tells Fifth Circuit It Will Revise Obama-Era Overtime Rule – But Not Just Yet

July 12, 2017 | Blog

Last week, lawyers for the federal government told an appeals court that the Department of Labor plans to revise the currently-blocked overtime rule issued during the Obama administration last year. But it won’t do so, it said, until the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals confirms that it has the right to set that threshold.
Read more

Eleventh Circuit Won’t Rehear Title VII Sexual Orientation Case; LGBT Advocacy Group Will Appeal to United States Supreme Court

July 11, 2017 | Blog

After the Eleventh Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc last week in Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, LGBT advocacy group Lambda Legal announced that it will appeal the dismissal of its client’s complaint to the United States Supreme Court.
Read more

New York Paid Family Leave Law Contributions Have Started, While Proposed Regulations Are Revised

July 11, 2017 | Blog | By Alexander Song

The Paid Family Leave Act will provide, when fully implemented, employees in the state of New York with up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid family leave
Read more

New York City Enacts Fair Workweek Legislation for Retail and Fast Food Employers

July 10, 2017 | Blog

Mayor de Blasio recently signed into law five bills collectively called the “Fair Workweek” legislative package, which will significantly impact employers in the retail and fast food industries. The laws are scheduled to take effect on November 26, 2017 – just after Thanksgiving.
Read more

California Joins the Ban-the-Box Bandwagon

July 5, 2017 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

California’s new Ban the Box regulation became effective last week. Effective July 1, 2017, questions by public employers concerning an applicant or employee’s criminal convictions will now be subject to the new regulation that employers can locate here.
Read more

Second Circuit Denies Latest Request for En Banc Review in Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination Case

June 29, 2017 | Blog | By George Patterson

The Second Circuit has denied a plaintiff’s request to rehear argument en banc (that is, before all of the court’s judges) in a case alleging that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Read more

Fourth Circuit Holds Complaining Employee is not Protected From Termination if the Employer Terminates Her Because It Believed Her Complaint was Fabricated

June 28, 2017 | Blog | By David Barmak

A recent Fourth Circuit ruling in a case handled by Mintz Levin provides some comfort to employers concerned about terminating an employee who they believe has made a false complaint of discrimination.
Read more

The Rise of the Group Health Insurance Captive

June 15, 2017 | Blog

With its “employer mandate”—i.e., the requirement that applicable large employers make an offer of group health coverage to substantially all full-time employees or face the prospect of a penalty—the Affordable Care Act (ACA) opened a fault line in the previously monolithic market for group health insurance.
Read more

Intermittent Leave Under the FMLA – The Basics

June 7, 2017 | Blog

Congress adopted the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”) to provide job security for employees who must miss work due to their own serious health condition, the birth of their children, to care for family members suffering from a serious health condition or for reasons related to their family members’ military service.
Read more

Can Congress Get to “Yes” on Replacing the Affordable Care Act?

June 7, 2017 | Blog

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently gave a candid assessment of the chances of getting an Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement bill through the Senate, saying “I don't know how we get to 50 (votes) at the moment.” That succinctly captures the political dilemma.
Read more

Mintz Benefits Attorney Patricia Moran Discusses Possible Changes to Obamacare Contraception Mandate

June 6, 2017 | Blog | By Tahisha Fugate

On June 2, Patricia Moran was a guest on Bloomberg radio, where she discussed the Trump administration’s potential softening of the Obamacare contraception coverage mandate.
Read more

Second Circuit Orders En Banc Review of Panel Holding that Title VII Does Not Prohibit Sexual Orientation Discrimination

June 5, 2017 | Blog | By George Patterson

We previously discussed the conflict between a Second Circuit panel’s holding in April that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act did not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and the Seventh Circuit’s landmark ruling the same month reaching the opposite conclusion.
Read more

Efforts to Shore up MassHealth Should Favor Simplicity and Avoid Potential Conflict with Federal Law

May 26, 2017 | Blog

In an effort to make up for a funding shortfall in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Medicaid program, state policymakers have proposed solutions that include a “play-or-pay” option under which employers who fail to offer major medical coverage, or who offer coverage but have low take-up rates, would be required
Read more

New York City Law Increasing Protections for Freelance Workers Takes Effect

May 19, 2017 | Blog | By George Patterson

In a previous post we discussed the significant new obligations New York City’s “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” imposes on employers that retain the services of freelance independent contractors. On May 15, these requirements became effective for all freelance contracts executed on or after that date.
Read more

Update: NYSDOL Appeals Decision to Invalidate Regulation for Employers Who Use Direct Deposit and Payroll Debit Cards

May 14, 2017 | Blog

As expected, the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) recently appealed the decision of the New York Industrial Board of Appeals invalidating the DOL regulations concerning employers who use direct deposit or payroll debit cards to pay employees.  The regulations, which were scheduled to take effect on March 7, 2017, were invalidated in February 2016.
Read more

Don’t Miss the Last Event in our Entrepreneur Series, Employment & Litigation Avoidance

May 11, 2017 | Blog | By Tahisha Fugate

Join us on Tuesday, May 16 for the final installment of our Entrepreneur Series in partnership with the University of San Diego.
Read more

Subscribe

Sign up to receive email updates from Mintz.
Subscribe Now
Coronavirus Blog Button

Coronavirus Insights Center

Employer Roadmap in the Time of 2019 Blog Button

Roadmap for Employers in the Time of COVID-19

AHP Blog Button

Association Health Plan Perspectives

Viewpoint Editors

Explore Other Viewpoints:

I'm Looking For...