The CDC has issued interim guidance on antibody testing for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19. While the guidance is primarily directed at clinical and public health entities, it does contain some information...more
Declaration of Coronavirus Pandemic by the World Health Organization -
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic regarding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19, but...more
News that multiple cases of the newly-identified 2019 Novel Coronavirus have reached the United States have prompted employers to think about employee safety and ways to address disease prevention in the workplace. Although,...more
1/29/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
General Duty Clause ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization
Heeding the adage “no one knows what the future may hold,” the Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits have uniformly refused to extend protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees with a perceived risk...more
11/14/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Future Impairment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Split of Authority ,
Wrongful Termination
While the Court’s decision resolves a circuit split on the issue, it does not in fact alter the law in the majority of jurisdictions, with eight circuits having already held that failure to exhaust administrative remedies...more
6/5/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Forfeiture ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Jurisdictional Requirements ,
Mandatory Claim-Processing Rules ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Title VII ,
Waiver Rule ,
Wrongful Termination
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, senior counsel Harris Mufson and associate Laura Fant discuss the latest developments in Title VII. We will discuss the two recent circuit court decisions concerning the scope of sex...more
3/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dismissals ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Podcasts ,
Reversal ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Split of Authority ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In a unanimous decision in EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc., a three-judge Sixth Circuit panel has held that discrimination on the basis of transgender status is “necessarily” discrimination on the basis of sex...more
3/13/2018
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Reversal ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Substantial Burden ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Wrongful Termination
The New York City Council will consider a series of bills aimed at preventing and addressing workplace sexual harassment, both in the private sector and in city agencies. The eleven bills, collectively titled the Stop Sexual...more
3/6/2018
/ Amended Rules ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
City Councils ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Local Ordinance ,
NYCHRL ,
Posting Requirements ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
Editor's Overview - As we have observed on other occasions, the ERISA class action plaintiffs' bar has, for several years now, honed in on 401(k) plan fiduciaries and their decisions to select and retain investment options...more
10/4/2017
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Delays ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Form 5500 ,
GINA ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
OMB ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Principal Transaction Exemption ,
Retirement Plan ,
Self-Dealing ,
Twombly/Iqbal Pleading Standard ,
Universities ,
Wellness Programs
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the EEOC to reconsider its final regulations on the extent to which an employer may offer incentives to participate in a wellness program without violating the...more
8/23/2017
/ AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Incentives ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Wellness Programs
In an 8-3 en banc decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, the Seventh Circuit has held that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII. In so holding, the...more
4/7/2017
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Split of Authority ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In a three-member panel decision in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc., the Second Circuit revived a homosexual employee’s claims under Title VII on the theory of sex discrimination based on sex stereotyping, but stopped...more
Editor’s Overview -
In 2016, we saw a considerable uptick in the number and variety of excessive fee lawsuits commenced against plan fiduciaries of defined contribution plans. We begin the year by taking a look at these...more
1/31/2017
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
AARP ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
GINA ,
Investment Funds ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Lifetime Health Benefits ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reservation of Rights ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Self-Dealing ,
Unions ,
Vesting ,
Wellness Programs
The EEOC is seeking public comment on proposed enforcement guidance addressing unlawful workplace harassment under the federal anti-discrimination laws enforced by the agency – namely, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judge Bates) has denied AARP’s request to block the implementation of the EEOC’s final wellness regulations pending a decision on the merits. As we have discussed...more
1/3/2017
/ AARP ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Incentives ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Wellness Programs
The EEOC has issued a new publication titled “Depression, PTSD & Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace: Your Legal Rights” aimed at informing applicants and employees with mental health conditions of their...more
This month we review a recent Second Circuit decision addressing ERISA plan status as a class member in a securities shareholder class action. As discussed in the article, the decision exposes a potential conflict among the...more
12/1/2016
/ AARP ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Budget Recollection Legislation ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dismissals ,
Due Process ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Filing Deadlines ,
GINA ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Presidential Elections ,
Repeal ,
Retirement Plan ,
Reversal ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Slayer Statutes ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs
As we have previously discussed in detail in several blogs (New EEOC Regulations Provide Roadmap for Wellness Programs; EEOC Issues Final Rules On Employer-Sponsored Wellness Program Compliance Under the ADA and GINA; and...more
10/27/2016
/ AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Final Rules ,
GINA ,
Incentives ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Wellness Programs
News that the Zika virus has reached the United States may be prompting employers to think more closely about employee safety and what steps should be taken to address disease prevention and management in the workplace....more
8/23/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Examinations ,
OSHA ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization ,
Zika
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued two final rules addressing employer-sponsored wellness programs’ compliance with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Title II of the...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has released new guidance on unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The guidance, issued on May 9, 2016, makes clear...more
In Morriss v. BNSF Railway Company, the Eighth Circuit recently held that obesity that is not caused by an underlying physiological condition is not a covered “impairment” for purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
This Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. The enactment of the ADA represented a bipartisan commitment to...more
On April 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a long awaited proposed rule on employee wellness programs. The rule is designed to help companies structure such programs to meet their...more
On March 20, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced its submission of a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) on employer-sponsored wellness plans to the White House Office of Management and...more