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Ohio employers will soon see their employees be able to purchase recreational marijuana when dispensaries open in the coming weeks. Ohio’s recreational marijuana program stems from a 2023 citizen-driven campaign to create a program that allows all Ohioans over 21 years of age to purchase marijuana without needing a doctor’s recommendation first. That initiative, known …
Continue reading “What Ohio Employers Need to Know As Legal Marijuana Sales Begin”
On July 1, 2024, the Department of Labor’s rule raising the salary threshold for workers to be exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act becomes effective. Labor lawyers and HR professionals have long expected, consistent with history, that a court would enjoin the DOL’s new rule (the fluidly named “Defining and …
Continue reading “Are You Ready? FLSA Salary Thresholds Increase July 1, 2024”
Nearly once a week, I receive a frantic call or email from a current or potential client who has received a proposed or final assessment from the IRS related to Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) reporting. So-called “Applicable Large Employers” (“ALEs”) with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees have been required to annually report …
Continue reading “The Top Affordable Care Act Reporting Mistakes We Continue to See in 2024”
Recently, a client called about a remote employee who was moving from the company’s primary location to a different state, and would continue working for the company. The company had no other employees in the new state and the client wanted to know if the employee’s new state residence might affect the company’s 401(k) retirement …
During an Open Commission Meeting on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 in favor of issuing the Noncompete Clause Rule (the “Final Rule”), which, with limited exceptions, makes it unlawful to enter into noncompete agreements with workers[1] on or after the Final Rule’s effective date, which is 120 days after its publication …
Many plan sponsors have read about the lawsuit filed against Johnson & Johnson alleging that it breached its fiduciary duties with regard to the prescription drug component of its group health plan, causing participants to “overpay” for their prescriptions. Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson (Case No. 1:2024cv00671), filed February 5, 2024, in the federal district …
Continue reading “Why Establish a Fiduciary Committee for Welfare Benefit Plans?”
It is now spring, and if you are an educational entity, it is now the season to begin preparations for summer professional development for the upcoming school year. So you may be wondering: 1) What is going on with Title IX? 2) Are we still following the regulations that were released in 2020? 3) What …
Within the past year, the rights of pregnant workers have considerably increased within the workplace. The expansion started with the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), which President Biden signed into law in late 2022. The PWFA took effect in June 2023. The PWFA requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees. Additionally, the Consolidated …
Continue reading “A New Era of Maternity Rights: Understanding the PWFA and the PUMP Act”
The new Texas ban on vaccine mandates may be just the start. COVID-19 vaccination mandates have been the subject of litigation and the target of state legislation since the vaccines became readily available. While several states enacted laws that prohibited government employers from requiring workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, private employers had wide latitude …
Continue reading “No Vaccine, No Employment? Know Your State Law”
In today’s world, countless individuals suffer from anxiety in its various forms. According to the World Health Organization, in 2019, 301 million people in the world had an anxiety disorder, which makes anxiety disorders “the most common of all mental disorders.”[1] But is “anxiety” a “disability” in a legal sense? Is someone with “anxiety” entitled …
Continue reading “The Difficulty of Defining a Disability—Anxiety”