Once Bitten, Twice Shy: COBRA Excise Tax Audits May Add to COBRA's Bite
The advent of Health Care Reform has not lessened the importance of complying with existing Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Internal Revenue Code requirements for employer-provided group health plans, such as COBRA, which requires covered health plans to provide certain notices and the opportunity to elect continued coverage to covered persons (qualified beneficiaries) who would otherwise lose coverage because of certain "qualifying events" such as termination of employment, loss of dependent status, and others.
"Volunteers" And Non-Profits: Round Two
A few readers were surprised by our April 3 post's caution that, in some scenarios, a volunteer performing work for a federal Fair Labor Standards Act-covered non-profit organization might be an "employee" subject to that law's compensation requirements.
Stuart Ishimaru to Resign as EEOC Commissioner
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) member Stuart Ishimaru has announced that he is resigning from the Commission this month, two months shy of when his second term is set to expire. Ishimaru was appointed to the EEOC in 2003 by former President Bush. From January 20, 2009 until April 7, 2010, Ishimaru served as the Commission’s acting chair. Commissioner Jacqueline Berrien currently holds the chairmanship position.
California Supreme Court Hands Down Major Decision On Meal And Rest Periods
On April 12, 2012 the California Supreme Court clarified the meal- and rest-period laws, as well as standards for class certification for these claims, and for off-the-clock claims. This case has been pending before the court since 2008, and its legal impact of the decision is far reaching. Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court of San Diego.
Legal Alert: CA Supreme Court Finally Decides Brinker: Employers Must Only "Provide" Meal Periods, "Not Ensure" They Are Taken
Executive Summary: Employers need only "provide" meal periods to their employees, not "ensure" they are taken. A second meal period must be taken within ten hours, not five hours after the end of the first meal period. A policy that only permits and authorizes one rest break for an employee working a seven-hour shift is illegal.
Brinker: Employers Need Not Force Meal Periods
I will digest the Court's unanimous Brinker opinion a bit later. Those of you waiting to read it, it is here.
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