"[It] doesn't take much to turn a lactation request into a PWFA-protected time away from work, particularly where the child is in 'close proximity' to your employee. As such, it's critical for employers to carefully assess these requests."  MORE >>

"Beginning in June 2024, California businesses with between 1 and 100 employees may qualify to receive grants of up to $2,000 for each employee who is off work for a reason covered by California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) program. The intent of the PFL Small Business Grant program is to help small businesses offset some of the expenses they incur while complying with their PFL obligations."  MORE >>

"The new law, the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act, will take effect on January 1, 2025. When it does, it will prohibit any employer (person or group of persons that employ a health care practitioner at a health care facility or office) from requiring a health care practitioner (MD, DO, CRNA, CRNP, or PA) to sign a 'noncompete covenant.' "  MORE >>

"The court held that the states have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claims and, if the Section 1557 final regulations on gender identity are enforced, will suffer irreparable harm from compliance costs or lost federal funding. As a result, the federal government cannot enforce HHS anti-discrimination rules and protections for transgender patients while Becerra is being decided." [Tennessee v. Becerra, No. 24-0161 (S.D. Miss. July 3, 2024)]  MORE >>

"[I]ndustry officials estimate that several large compounding pharmacies ... are provisioning up to 2 million American patients with regular doses of semaglutide, the scientific name for Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus formulations, or tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Mounjaro.... The compounded forms are significantly cheaper than the branded drugs. Patients pay about $100 to $450 a month, compared with list prices of roughly $1,000 to $1,400 for Lilly and Novo Nordisk products."  MORE >>

"[T]hese policies may raise a number of issues, including: [1] The potential for inadvertently creating an accrued or earned vacation benefit that could be viewed in some states as an impermissible 'use-it-or-lose-it' vacation policy, and an attempt to circumvent the obligation to pay accrued and unused vacation upon termination of employment; [2] Compliance issues with mandatory paid sick and safe time and other paid time off laws; [3] Challenges navigating the intersection of unlimited PTO and leaves of absence (e.g., FMLA, ADA); and [4] Handling the transition from accrued to unlimited PTO."  MORE >>

48 pages. "The HHS-operated risk adjustment program saw a slight decrease in issuer participation nationally in the 2023 benefit year, compared to the 2022 benefit year.... Risk adjustment state transfers as a percent of premiums slightly decreased compared to the 2022 benefit year.... On average, risk scores decreased slightly between the 2022 and 2023 benefit years."

• Appendix A: HHS Risk Adjustment Program State-Specific Data (XLSX);
• Appendix B: HHS Risk Adjustment Geographic Cost Factor (GCF) (XLSX);
• Appendix C: Issuer-Specific Information for Non-Merged Market Issuers (XLSX);
• Appendix D: Issuer-Specific Information for Merged Market Issuers (XLSX);
• Appendix E: Default Risk Adjustment Charge (XLSX);
• Appendix F: Default Risk Adjustment Charge Allocation (XLSX)

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"[I]ndividuals and businesses in 67 Texas counties affected by Hurricane Beryl that began on July 5, 2024 ... now have until Feb. 3, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments."  MORE >>

"Plaintiff submitted precedent from both the Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit that a 'party-restricted' injunction would be improper and that the court must set aside the improper agency action 'with nationwide effect.' Plaintiff further argued that expanding the injunction nationwide would 'spare businesses the illegal burdens imposed by the rule,' promptly conclude litigation, and avoid 'a torrent of lawsuits' similar to the ones already pending before the courts." [Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 24-0986 (N.D. Tex. Jul. 3, 2024; motion for reconsideration denied Jul. 11, 2024)]  MORE >>

"[T]he opinions are likely to increase the number of legal challenges to agency guidance on issues affecting health and retirement plans, with regulatory provisions more likely to be limited or overturned entirely. In addition, the opinions may affect how Congress drafts future legislation and how agencies approach rulemaking. The full impact will likely play out over an extended period of time while various legal challenges work their way through the courts."  MORE >>