Contracts restraining competition by former employees and contractors have always faced enforcement headwinds, differing state-by-state in their strength and direction. California is most hostile; there, a statute purports to...more
9/16/2024
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Competition ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Nonprofits ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Senior Managers ,
Unfair Competition
Suppose that your nemesis has a legal beef with you, and you learn that the law allows him to appoint one of his employees to judge the case. Shocked? You should be. Yet federal agency adjudication works the same way. How...more
7/18/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Article III ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Jury Trial ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Seventh Amendment ,
Unions
On April 23, the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to publish its new rule, 29 C.F.R. Part 910, banning almost all non-compete clauses with workers. The rule will take effect 120 days after formal publication in the Federal...more
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Raymond Chandler, The High Window That’s typically true of legislation that...more
With the 2016 employer mandate tax assessment letters hitting employer desks this week, it seems like a good time to summarize our experience with the 2015 ESRP process. ...more
It sure seems like a long, long time since ACA foes were suing to block executive actions to “fix” problems that Congress couldn’t or wouldn’t. Now, it’s the turn of ACA defenders, who are suing to block executive actions to...more
There’s a comically profound scene in the second “Madagascar” movie. Penguin (management) and monkey (union) committees are negotiating a labor contract. After the monkeys seem to have secured what they want, they add a...more
Entering a football stadium many years ago, your nimble correspondent encountered unarmed security contractors wearing uniforms featuring the company logo – a big, red bull’s-eye – on the front of the baseball cap and on the...more
On November 17, the IRS published the Form that Applicable Large Employers must use to respond to IRS letters regarding proposed assessment of 2015 employer mandate taxes. Form 14764 is a paper, mail-in “ESRP Response” that...more
Just days ago, “Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act,” No. 57 read as follows:
Does the IRS expect to publish more information about the employer shared...more
The October 12, 2017 “Executive Order Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States” gets things rolling, but this ball will have to roll up hill for months before it can roll downhill. Here’s...more
Readers will recall our surprise that so much of the rule-making under ACA § 1557 addressed transgender issues. We now have decisions from two federal district courts taking polar opposite positions on whether § 1557...more
That’s the title of a web page that employers may find helpful upon receipt of an IRS communication asserting liability for employer mandate taxes under Code § 4980H. It should have an official notice (“CP”) or letter...more
Does the IRS expect to publish more information about the employer shared responsibility payment procedures?
Yes. The IRS expects to publish guidance of general applicability describing the employer shared responsibility...more
We don’t blame you for hearing that whenever someone warns of employer mandate taxes coming your way. Nevertheless, we’re donning the chicken suit once again to keep you aware. This time, we’ll keep it short and mainly...more
The Senate’s finest hours were not those spent in July 26, 2017 health care policy debate, which resumed July 27 at 10:00 am EDT. The bipartisan demagoguery did not diminish, but some Senators on each side rose above that...more
Senate floor activity has made this the ACA’s biggest news week not involving Justice Roberts, but whatever news you have read, rest assured that it wasn’t really that simple. Let us preach on it.
Shortly after noon EDT...more
ACA “repeal” proposals at this point seem like zombie extras – walking dead, and none of them purports to repeal employer mandate taxes that accrued in 2015. Collection is coming; only the timing is in question.
ACV 2.0 is...more
The hero has disappeared in a cloud of suspicion and is presumed dead, so much so that supposed friends are found to be celebrating his passing. This is just as it should be at the end of Act II. Remember when Republicans...more
The pundits and political partisans apparently stopped reading before the heading on page 9 of the CBO’s June 26 report on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) Discussion Draft, “Uncertainty Surrounding the Estimates,”...more
Many other things being equal, the longer the sail boat, the faster it can go before its bow wave defeats further speed increase. However, as any boat approaches its “hull speed,” an increasing amount of energy is required...more
The “Discussion Draft” released June 22, 2017 by the Senate Budget Committee carries the House Bill number (H.R. 1628) of the American Health Care Act, and kills taxes like the House bill, but there are major differences,...more
Lots of wrecks happen because drivers, staring at what’s directly in front of them, are unaware of dangers coming from other directions. This is an ACA blog, so right now we’re staring at the ACA changes being proposed by the...more
Maxwell Smart, aka “Agent 86” in the 1960’s TV series Get Smart, claimed to have survived “fiendish” water torture – 300 gallons at the rate of one drop a minute. When disbelieved, he asked, “Would you believe a quart?” The...more
In the wee hours of May 5, 2017, a state governor awoke, startled. Late on May 4, he or she had been briefed on the Patient and State Stability Fund and the Federal Invisible Risk Sharing Program described in § 132 of the...more