On December 15, 2017, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan issued an opinion reinforcing the principle that an employer may only institute arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism for existing employees if the employer expressly informs the employee that continued employment is contingent upon the employee’s acceptance of the arbitration …
Workforce Mobility at Risk under a NAFTA Renegotiation
The assessments of President Donald J. Trump’s first year in office have a recurring stormy theme, twisting and turning Washington D.C.’s status quo, metaphorically matching a year of once-in-a-generation natural disasters such as Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, wildfires and floods. These disruptive events were not limited to the U.S. domestic policy shorelines; indeed, global trade …
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Interagency Cooperation: Raising the Bar for Immigration Compliance
On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should again be open for business for a flood of H-1B petition filings, which are subject to the annual cap. Employers are required to pay the higher of the actual or prevailing wage for the area of intended employment to sponsor an H-1B specialty occupation …
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The Good News and the Bad News: IRS Changes Fee Schedule for the Voluntary Correction Program for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans
Buried under the news of tax reform and deep within an annual bulletin, the IRS has announced reduced fees for corrections made pursuant to its Voluntary Correction Program (“VCP”). However, fees will not be lower in every circumstance. The EPCRS Program Plan sponsors that make mistakes with respect to the operation or documentation of their …
Keep Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’: DOL Reissues 17 Opinion Letters That Had Been Withdrawn Under the Obama Administration
In late June 2017, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced it would be reinstating Opinion Letters issued by its Wage and Hour Division, which was a practice that had ceased back in 2010. This announcement is significant from both the procedural and substantive basis. From 2010 to July 2017, Opinion Letters were replaced by …
What to Watch for in 2018: The New Overtime Rule, Take Two
One of the most significant developments in employment law in 2017 was a federal district court in Texas declaring invalid the Obama Administration’s controversial new overtime rule that would have more than doubled the minimum salary level required to qualify for certain overtime exemptions under the FLSA. Although the business community won this battle, employers …
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Tax Reform: The Five Big Changes Affecting Employee Benefits
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed H.R. 1 (formerly, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “Act”)) into law. While the Act was primarily focused on business tax cuts and individual tax reform, the Act includes several provisions that have implications for employee benefits and executive compensation. 1. Compensation Deduction Limits for Publicly Traded …
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