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Canada and the European Union (“EU”) began the provisional application of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (“CETA”) on September 21, 2017. CETA includes temporary entry provisions that will make it easier for skilled EU professionals and business people to temporarily enter Canada. Of particular note are the one-year work permits that are …
Continue reading “CETA – Enhanced Options for Labour Mobility in Canada”
ERISA generally governs all pension and welfare benefit plans. In regulations, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has exempted certain types of plans or practices from the definition of a welfare benefit plan under Title I of ERISA. One commonly used exemption is the “payroll practice” exemption. Exempt payroll practices include “payment of an employee’s normal …
Continue reading “Is a Self-Funded STD Plan an ERISA Plan or an Exempt Payroll Practice?”
Companies generally are allowed to deduct all ordinary and necessary expenses paid during the year to carry on a trade or business, including most expenses related to settlement of a lawsuit or claim relating to the business. But expenses such as illegal bribes and fines paid to the government for violation of any law are …
Social media has been and will continue to be an issue for employers. It has become the way people, especially Millennials, who make up a significant amount of the restaurant-industry workforce, communicate. When most employers think about social media in the workplace, they tend to think solely in terms of the high-profile social media firing …
Continue reading “Five Common Employer Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them”
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “Workforce Mobility at Risk under a NAFTA Renegotiation”
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 …
Continue reading “Interagency Cooperation: Raising the Bar for Immigration Compliance”
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 …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “What to Watch for in 2018: The New Overtime Rule, Take Two”