Workforce Bulletin

In this month’s Take 5 newsletter, I discuss how California is unique for making numerous types of protected leaves of absence available to employees.  All of these options can add up to a lot of protected leave.

Following is from the introduction:

National employers often find it challenging to navigate the employment laws of the various states in which they do business. In most cases, the easiest solution may be to adopt national policies that follow federal law. This process will not work, however, for employers that do business in California, where state protections are often more ...

On Sept. 4, in conjunction with the Grain Journal Magazine, Eric J. Conn, Head of the national OSHA Practice Group at Epstein Becker & Green, delivered a webinar briefing entitled “New OSHA Sweep Auger Enforcement Policies... How They Will Affect You.”  The 120-minute webinar, including 45+ minutes of Q&A, was recorded, and the Grain Journal has made the recording available online.  Here is a link to the OSHA / Sweep Auger webinar recording.

The Sweep Auger webinar followed an article recently published in the July/August edition of Grain & Feed Milling Technology ...

We recommend this recent post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog: “IRS Releases Proposed Rules on Employer's Information Reporting Requirements Under the Employer Mandate of the Affordable Care Act,” by Kara Maciel, Adam Solander, and Brandon Ge, our colleagues at Epstein Becker Green.

Following is an excerpt:

On September 5, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released two proposed rules to implement important reporting requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which will help determine penalties under the ...

On September 18, 2013, our hospitality practice attorneys, Kara Maciel and Mark Trapp, have the pleasure of speaking at the Lodging Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona on key financial and legal issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act impacting hotel owners and managers when acquiring, selling, developing or managing properties. 

Under the 2010 ADA Standards, which became effective in March of 2012, hotels must take steps to remove access barriers for individuals with disabilities. The new federal standards encompass some key changes for hotel owners ...

 

We recommend this recent post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog: “IRS Releases Proposed Rules on Employer's Information Reporting Requirements Under the Employer Mandate of the Affordable Care Act,” by Kara Maciel, Adam Solander, and Brandon Ge, our colleagues at Epstein Becker Green.

Following is an excerpt:

On September 5, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released two proposed rules to implement important reporting requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which will help determine penalties under the ...

By Jennifer Nutter

Until recently, California retail employers could leverage the threat that employees suing them for nonpayment of wages (including sales commissions), fringe benefits, or health and welfare or pension fund contributions would have to pay the employer’s attorneys’ fees in the event that the claim was unsuccessful.  Labor Code Section 218.5 provided that the court “shall” award the “prevailing party” its attorneys’ fees in such cases (assuming a request was made at the beginning of the suit).

It had long been argued by attorneys representing ...

By:  Kara Maciel, Adam Solander and Brandon Ge

On September 5, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released two proposed rules to implement important reporting requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which will help determine penalties under the Employer Mandate and should be of great importance to hospitality employers. 

One rule would require information reporting by insurers, self-insuring employers, and other parties that provide health coverage (“minimum essential coverage”). The other rule would require ...

I recently coauthored an article in TechLifeSciNews, "The Affordable Care Act: Technology Companies Must Continue Compliance Efforts," with Gretchen Harders, one of my colleagues in the Employee Benefits practice at Epstein Becker Green. 

Following is an excerpt:

Technology companies are in the unique position of developing new products and technologies for the healthcare industry, while at the same time acting in the role of employer subject to the healthcare reform mandates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended ("ACA"). Whether the company ...

By: Robert Groban and Susan Gross Sholinsky

Recent settlements with Forever 21 and Macy’s announced by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel (“OSC”) underscore the importance to retail employers of training staff regarding the anti-discrimination provisions of the Form I-9 requirements.

Most employers are familiar with the Form I-9 requirements that direct employers to obtain original documentation establishing the identity and work authorization of all new employees hired since November 7, 1986.  In their eagerness to satisfy their Form I-9 ...

Apple Inc.'s practice of requiring hourly employees to wait (off the clock) in order to undergo "personal package and bag checks" prior to meal breaks and at the end of shifts is the subject of a purported wage-hour collective action.