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The IRS announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for employer plans for tax year 2021. Most IRS limits impacting employer retirement plans have remained the same because the increase in the cost-of-living index did not meet the legal thresholds that trigger their adjustment. See IRS Notice 2020-79 and IRS Revenue Procedure 2020-32 for …
Continue reading “The IRS Announces Updated Limitations Related to Employer Plans for 2021”
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, employees continue to work from home in record numbers, and employers continue to scramble to adjust their business operations and employee relations policies to accommodate the so-called “new normal”. Following-up on our earlier news about the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) odd relaxation of certain …
This article originally appeared in HR News Magazine, November 2020 Edition. Most collectively bargained contracts define procedures for resolving disputes between an employee represented by the union and the employer. Such grievance procedures generally consist of two to four steps, with the final step being an arbitration hearing before a neutral arbitrator. The arbitrator is …
It’s becoming clichéd at this point to start off saying that 2020 has been an almost unbelievably, non-stop, surprise-filled year, in nearly all aspects of our lives. That’s particularly true for US immigration, but not necessarily only because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on business and the economy. On top of the pandemic, …
Continue reading “All Aboard the U.S. Immigration Merry-Go-Round!”
Even though it happens every four-years, it still tends to dominate the media, culture, and watercooler. We are, of course, talking about the presidential election. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, but citizens have been voting in some states since late September. As the airwaves become inundated with political ads, telephones get overwhelmed with robocalls, …
Continue reading “Election Day Leave Policies – What Employers Need to Know Before November 3”
Most employers sponsoring 401(k) and 403(b) plans are well aware of the large number of lawsuits filed over the past decade or so alleging breach of ERISA fiduciary duty related to plan investment funds and service providers. Unfortunately for plan sponsors (and their employees who serve as investment related fiduciaries), the pace of these lawsuits …
On September 14, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of its flexibility provisions related to Form I-9 compliance, which ICE granted earlier this year. The extended flexibility requirements are intended to address situations in which employers’ entire operations are being conducted remotely due to Covid-19 concerns. The Department of Homeland Security …
With the delay in re-opening businesses, some companies are finding that they need to terminate employees who had been placed initially on furlough or a reduced-hours assignment. When analyzing the costs that will be incurred due to these terminations, companies that sponsor 401(k) plans or other qualified retirement plans should determine if the partial termination …
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently cancelled its plan to furlough over two-thirds, or 13,400 of its 20,000 employees. The furlough was expected to cause USCIS to all but stop processing immigration benefits, creating a crisis for the U.S. immigration system. While this is welcome news, USCIS has also announced that it will be …
Continue reading “The USCIS Budget Crisis and Its Potential Impact on the U.S. Immigration System”
A Last Chance Agreement (“LCA”) is an agreement between the employee and the employer, usually as a last effort to avoid termination, where the employee must agree to the LCA as a condition of employment to keep their job. An LCA is typically structured so the employee agrees that if the employee engages in one …