In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., decided May 23, a unanimous Supreme Court addressed the standard for determining whether a party has waived its right to arbitrate a controversy by first engaging in litigation. Overruling...more
5/27/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Burden of Proof ,
Collective Actions ,
Delay Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Morgan v Sundance ,
Motion to Compel ,
Prejudice ,
SCOTUS
In Hawkins, et al. v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156, __ F.4d __ (2022), plaintiffs brought a class action pursuant to Section 502(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), alleging that their former employer...more
4/29/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Duty ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan
Key Takeaways -
..Mishandling of premiums can lead to breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA against employers.
..Information beyond what is required to be disclosed by ERISA may need to be provided by plan...more
Key Takeaways -
..SECURE Act 2.0 passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 29, 2022.
..SECURE Act 2.0 would make changes to employer-sponsored retirement plans to expand coverage and increase savings, as well as...more
KEY TAKEAWAYS -
..H.R. 4445 prohibits pre-dispute arbitration clauses and waivers of right to bring joint actions in cases of sexual assault or sexual harassment.
..Courts, not arbitrators, determine the applicability...more
KEY TAKEAWAYS -
..Plan fiduciaries have a duty of prudence to independently evaluate on an ongoing basis investments offered in a plan’s menu of options and remove any imprudent ones.
..Plan participants’ ultimate...more
1/28/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Plan Participants ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SCOTUS
Key Takeaways -
..The Supreme Court stayed OSHA's Vaccination or Testing ETS, but state/local requirements may apply, employers may still have policies requiring COVID-19 vaccination or testing, and employers still have a...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On December 17, 2021, a divided Sixth Circuit Court panel issued an opinion dissolving the Fifth Circuit's stay of the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing issued by the Occupational Safety...more
12/20/2021
/ Appeals ,
Compliance Dates ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Order to Lift Stay ,
OSHA ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations
Immediately after OSHA published its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing for private sector workers, various individuals, covered employers, states and other groups challenged its validity...more
11/15/2021
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
OSHA ,
Public Health ,
Statutory Authority ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revealed its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing, which has been published in the Federal Register and is...more
11/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On October 25, 2021, the EEOC updated its Technical Guidance What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO Laws to provide more direction to employers regarding religious objections to...more
10/28/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, the White House announced a COVID-19 Plan that contains a comprehensive national strategy to address the rise in COVID-19 cases caused by the delta variant. The strategy employs six detailed points of...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Private Sector ,
Public Employees ,
Public Schools ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
What is a COVID-19 vaccine passport?
A COVID-19 vaccine passport is a document that serves as proof that an individual has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine passports can be used to regulate international...more
On June 22, 2021, The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration posted a new set of Emergency Rules on the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance website. These...more
On June 17, 2021, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued a Recission of Emergency Orders. Finding that the COVID-19 positivity rates, case rates, hospitalization and death numbers have decreased, along...more
On June 10, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its guidance entitled Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace to reflect the...more
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its technical assistance guidance, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, concerning...more
6/2/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Incentives ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations
On May 24, 2021, Governor Whitmer announced updates to MIOSHA's COVID-19 emergency rules, which supersede the prior version filed on October 14, 2020, and extended on April 13, 2021. The updated rules are set to remain in...more
UPDATE: On May 20, 2021, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a bipartisan agreement with the Legislature to fully negotiate the state budget and federal funding from the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act with the...more
5/24/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Funding ,
Governor Whitmer ,
Masks ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
State Budgets ,
State Health Departments ,
State OSHA Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On May 15, 2021, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued an updated Gatherings and Face Mask Order that follows the CDC's Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People released on May 13, 2021, which says...more
Updated: On May 5, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule withdrawing a proposed Trump-era independent contractor rule that would have made it easier to classify workers as independent contractors under...more
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the "Rescue Plan") was passed and signed into law. Employers should be aware of the key employment provisions of the Rescue Plan in managing their workforce and in...more
With nearly 34 million people, or more than one in 10 Americans, fully vaccinated against COVID-19, most employers can expect vaccination to soon become available to their general workforce. Besides being eager to return to...more
3/15/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
GINA ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
UPDATED: The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has announced that the final rule on independent contractor status' effective date is delayed until May 7, 2021 “to allow the Department to review issues of law,...more
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized its rule concerning the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is scheduled to be...more