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
As we previously reported, on September 7, 2016, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) published final regulations on the methods by which employees must be paid, including with respect to direct deposit of wages...more
The New York Workers Compensation Board has issued a proposed rule for implementation of the statewide Paid Family Leave Law (“PFLL”), which goes into effect on January 1, 2018....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 City of Philadelphia has passed an ordinance that will make it unlawful for employers to inquire into an applicant’s wage history during the hiring process. The law, which amends the city’s current Fair Practices...more
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
This month Richard Zall, Chair of Proskauer's Health Care Department, explores developments likely to occur with respect to the Affordable Care Act as a result of the new administration. In our Rulings, Filings and...more
12/21/2016
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
CEOs ,
CMMI ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Individual Mandate ,
Local Ordinance ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Pay Ratio ,
Pay Ratio Tax ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Repeal ,
Subsidies ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
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
The Portland, Oregon City Council has passed an ordinance that will impose a tax surcharge on publicly traded companies whose chief executive officers are paid at least 100 times more than the median pay of other company...more
As we noted in an earlier post, the election of Donald J. Trump likely means that states and municipalities—and not the federal government—will lead the charge on worker-protection issues for the next four years. In this...more
12/7/2016
/ City Councils ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fair Work Act ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Food Service Workers ,
Pending Legislation ,
Presidential Elections ,
Retail Workers ,
State and Local Government ,
Work Schedules
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
This Election Day, voters in Arizona and Washington approved measures requiring employers to provide eligible employees with paid sick leave. These states are the latest to join the ever-expanding patchwork of jurisdictions...more
The Second Circuit is once again seeking guidance from the New York Court of Appeals, this time on the question of the appropriate standard for awarding punitive damages for unlawful discriminatory acts under the New York...more
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
In a 2-1 ruling in DirecTV Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed the NLRB’s ruling that DirecTV must reinstate technicians who were terminated for complaining about a...more
9/23/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DirectTV ,
Grievance Process ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Satellites ,
Television Service Providers ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour
OSHA has issued new guidance on approving settlement agreements in whistleblower cases, revising portions of its Whistleblower Investigations Manual. The guidance, dated August 23 but not released until September 15, states...more
The Second Circuit has asked the New York Court of Appeals for guidance on the scope of liability for discrimination based on criminal conviction history under Section 296(15) of the New York State Human Rights Law...more
9/1/2016
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Appeals ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NYHRL ,
Subcontracts
In Vasquez v. Empress Ambulance Service, Inc., the Second Circuit adopted the “cat’s paw” theory of liability under Title VII and held that the retaliatory intent of a low-level, non-supervisory employee may be imputed to an...more
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
New York City Public Advocate Letitia James has introduced legislation before the City Council that would amend the New York City Human Rights Law to make it an unlawful employment practice for employers to request job...more
8/22/2016
/ Background Checks ,
City Councils ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NYCHRL ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
An amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) introduced before the City Council this week would add current or prior service in the uniformed services as a protected class under the law. If approved by the...more
Massachusetts has passed an amendment to the state’s equal pay law aimed at strengthening prohibitions on gender discrimination in the payment of wages for comparable work. The new bill, signed by Governor Charlie Baker (R)...more
Effective as of July 7, 2016, amendments to the Philadelphia, PA Fair Practices Ordinance make it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to procure, seek to procure, or use an applicant’s or employee’s credit...more