Workforce Bulletin

My colleague Lee T. Polk authored Epstein Becker Green’s recent issue of its Take 5 newsletter.   This Take 5 features five considerations suggesting the advantages of employee benefit plans as programs that are beneficial to both employers and employees.

1. Tax Aspects of Qualified Retirement Plans Can Save Money For Both Employers and Employees
2. The Benefits of a Contractual Claims Limitation Period
3. The Benefits of a Contractual Venue Selection Clause
4. The Standard of Judicial Review in the Context of Top Hat Plan Benefit Disputes
5. Fiduciary Exception to the Attorney-Client ...

My colleague Lee T. Polk authored Epstein Becker Green’s recent issue of its Take 5 newsletter.   This Take 5 features five considerations suggesting the advantages of employee benefit plans as programs that are beneficial to both employers and employees.

1. Tax Aspects of Qualified Retirement Plans Can Save Money For Both Employers and Employees
2. The Benefits of a Contractual Claims Limitation Period
3. The Benefits of a Contractual Venue Selection Clause
4. The Standard of Judicial Review in the Context of Top Hat Plan Benefit Disputes
5. Fiduciary Exception to the Attorney-Client ...

On Monday, December 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific, our colleague Alka Ramchandani will be a featured speaker in a webinar hosted by California Employer Resources.

Ms. Ramchandani will identify the potential risks and liability associated with retaining temporary workers in California. She will provide strategies on how to minimize risk and liability when hiring temporary workers by ensuring all contractual agreements, expectations, and performance requirements are in place. 

As California companies hire more temporary workers to deal with economic, staffing, and ...

On November 21, 2014, the Department of Labor released its Agency Rule List, which provides the status of all rulemaking efforts at each of its agencies.  OSHA dominated the list of regulatory activity in the Department, listing 26 regulations in the prerule, proposed rule, and final rule stages. 

Of these 26 items, OSHA announced that its top regulatory priorities include:

• Efforts to control exposure to crystalline silica
• Enhancements to current infectious disease protocols in healthcare and other high risk environments
• Issuance of a final rule modernizing its reporting system ...

To register for this webinar, please click here.

Join Valerie Butera, Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. EST for a 60-minute webinar.

This webinar will delve deeper into OSHA issues that will impact a wider range of industries in 2015.   In addition to a greater focus on enforcements and inspections, changes will occur for recording injuries and illnesses in the OSHA 300 Injury and Illness Recordkeeping log as well as reporting changes of severe injuries or illnesses.

Topics will include:

• Where we are now and the direction of ...

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower, created in 2011 pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, released its mandated report to Congress on operations for Fiscal Year 2014, ending on September 30, 2014.  A number of interesting facts, statistics and developments were reported.  Here is a selection of particularly relevant highlights:

• FY 2014 was the most active year yet in terms of whistleblower awards. The SEC has made awards to 14 whistleblowers since inception of the program, including 9 in ...

Technology, media, and telecommunication employers doing business in New York City should take note of a new ordinance Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law on October 20, 2014 – The Affordable Transit Act.

The Affordable Transit Act (the “Act”) requires employers in New York City with 20 or more full-time employees to offer pre-tax transit benefits to employees. The Act allows employees to use up to $130 in tax free money towards their transit costs, which is the current IRS limit.  Full-time employees are defined as employees working an average of 30 hours or more per week.

Retailers doing business in New York City should take note of a new ordinance Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law on October 20, 2014 – The Affordable Transit Act. 

The Affordable Transit Act (the “Act”) requires employers in New York City with 20 or more full-time employees to offer pre-tax transit benefits to employees. The Act allows employees to use up to $130 in tax free money towards their transit costs, which is the current IRS limit.  Full-time employees are defined as employees working an average of 30 hours or more per week. 

Penalties for violating the Act are $100-$250 for ...

With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, OSHA has reached out to retailers strongly encouraging them to adopt a set of Crowd Management Safety Guidelines for Retailers, in addition to their existing safety and health policies and procedures.

Citing the tragic death of a retail employee who was crushed during a stampede at a Black Friday event in 2008, OSHA has urged the adoption of these crowd control protocols as a critical step for employers and store owners to take in ensuring employee safety during the holiday shopping rush, and other events where large crowds may gather.  ...

By Valerie Butera

With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, OSHA has reached out to retailers strongly encouraging them to adopt a set of Crowd Management Safety Guidelines for Retailers, in addition to their existing safety and health policies and procedures.

Citing the tragic death of a retail employee who was crushed during a stampede at a Black Friday event in 2008, OSHA has urged the adoption of these crowd control protocols as a critical step for employers and store owners to take in ensuring employee safety during the holiday shopping rush, and other events where large ...