Differing Reports on How Businesses and Health Law Are Interacting
"Reuters reports that Health and Human Services data show the business community is a big winner as a result of the measure's early retiree program. But The Fiscal Times notes that some 'corporate giants' are at odds with the overhaul."
(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
|
|
[Guidance Overview]
Ninth Circuit Defines FMLA Interference Claim
"The City refused to reinstate [the plaintiff] from her leave. The City took the position that it could not provide her with a safe workplace because it was not clear what caused her medical issues. A jury found that the City acted lawfully. But the trial court found in [the plaintiff's] favor on a state law claim under Oregon's family leave law."
(Shaw Valenza LLP)
|
|
California Approves Bill Updating Tax Rules on Adult Child Health Insurance Coverage
"Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton this week signed conformity legislation, . . . while Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear did the same last week . . . . Meanwhile, the Vermont House passed a conformity measure . . . while the South Carolina Senate has approved its conformity bill . . . . Earlier this year, lawmakers in Arizona, Maine and Oregon also approved conformity measures."
(Business Insurance)
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. Supreme Court to Weigh Expedited Review of Health Reform Case
"The U.S. Supreme Court on April 15 will convene a private conference to consider an appeal by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) for an expedited review of a federal judge's ruling in the state's lawsuit against the federal health reform law . . . ."
(California HealthCare Foundation by The Advisory Board Company)
|
|
Administration Delaying Some Rules for Appealing Health Insurance Denials
"[T]he low-key announcement posted on the [DOL] website March 18 tells insurers and self-insured employers that the enforcement grace period has been extended until 2012 because the government intends to modify the rules 'in the near future.' What those changes might be were not disclosed, but the prospect concerns consumer groups."
(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
|
Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
|
[Guidance Overview]
Conkright in the Courts: Making Sense of the Firestone Trilogy
"The trilogy now seems to be in place - Firestone, providing generous deferential review; Glenn, providing a multi-factor analysis for cases in which the fiduciary is deemed unworthy of such deference; and Conkright, to remind us that Firestone remains the bedrock on which all else rests."
(Roy Harmon III / Health Plan Law)
|
[Guidance Overview]
DOL Rescinds Form T-1 Trust Annual Report (PDF)
"The DOL has issued final regulations rescinding the requirement that unions file Form T-1 . . . disclosing financial information for certain trusts they control, thereby eliminating the need for unions to file the Form T-1 in 2011 for benefit trusts such as those for apprenticeship programs, strike funds, building funds, and educational funds."
(Buck Consultants)
|
[Guidance Overview]
The USERRA Does Not Provide a Claim for Hostile Work Environment
"This decision does not affect in any way the protections of the USERRA for employees who are members of the military, nor does it preclude those employees from filing claims for constructive discharge, should their employment become so intolerable that they are forced to leave a job."
(Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC)
|
How to Fix Oversize Executive Compensation
"[The NBER Shared Capitalism Research Project has shown that] Distributing rewards across the corporation -- sharing them with workers -- is the most efficient way of making businesses more successful."
(Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
|
School District Employees' Pay and Perks Raise Questions in Burlington, Vermont
"State law requires public employee compensation to be available for public inspection - in other words to anyone who seeks it -- but does not say it needs to be in town reports. The Burlington City Charter goes beyond that and explicitly calls for publication of names and amount of compensation 'by way of salary or otherwise' over $300."
(www.burlingtonfreepress.com)
|
Pension and Health Care Deal Reached with L.A.'s Largest City Union
"Los Angeles officials . . . unveiled what Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa termed a landmark tentative labor agreement that would greatly increase healthcare and pension contributions for thousands of municipal workers and put an end to some furloughs caused by the city's budget crisis."
(Los Angeles Times)
|
Press Releases
|