Search the News Archive

Seventh Circuit: No ADEA Violation When Rehired Retirees Were Terminated to Preserve Supplemental Health Insurance Coverage and Avoid Additional Costs

"The Seventh Circuit's decision ... aptly illustrates the difficulty plaintiffs encounter in ADEA cases with the 'but-for' standard of causation. [The case] also underscores the importance of employers not making or acting on 'stereotypical assumptions' about the capabilities of older employees based on their enrollment in Medicare or a Medicare supplemental insurance plan or pension eligibility or using age as the determining factor in employment decisions." [Carson v. Lake County, Indiana, No. 16-3665 (7th Cir. July 26, 2017)]

Georgia's New Kin Care Law: Who is Covered and What It Means for Employers

"[If] the employer provides paid sick leave for the employee to use for her or his own illness, now the employer must allow that employee to use the employee's sick leave to care for an immediate family member. Moreover, an employee can only use sick leave that the employee has already accrued, and sick leave must be used in accordance with employer's sick leave policy."

Chicago and Cook County Paid Sick Leave Ordinances Revised (PDF)

"Chicago's draft rules provide that if an employer's benefit year begins after an employee's start date, the employer shall allow the employee to carry over all of the accrued paid sick leave, up to 20 hours, to the benefit year. Cook County's rules provide two possible ways to move an employee to a different accrual period than based on an anniversary.... Employers in both jurisdictions who already provide time off for employees may not have to provide separate PSL in certain circumstances."

Supreme Court Decision Offers Some Relief to Church-Affiliated Nonprofits Using ERISA Church Plan Exemption

"[C]hurch affiliates relying on the principal-purpose organization basis to classify their plans as church plans should review their plan governance structure to ensure that they can show that their plans are maintained by an organization that is controlled by or associated with a church and that has the principal purpose of overseeing employee benefit plans of churches or church affiliates. Control of a principal-purpose organization by a church can be shown by a church's control over the appointment of the organization's manager or majority of board members. Association with a church is a subjective analysis that considers whether the organization shares common religious bonds and conventions with that church." [Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, No. 16-74 (U.S. June 3, 2017)]

Multiemployer Pension Plans: Section 1405 Limitation on Withdrawal Liability

"[The arbitrator found] that when a pension fund fails to respond to an employer's request for review letter ... the fund is not entitled to a presumption of correctness ... [T]he arbitrator rejected the fund's argument that to qualify for the 'sale of assets' provision under subsection (a), all the assets had to be sold to a 'single unrelated party.' ... [T]he arbitrator rejected the fund's argument that the 'motivation' or reasons for the sale of assets are relevant to the issue of whether the asset sale caused or triggered the withdrawal."

Separate vs. Combined Leave Policies

"To further evaluate whether to have a single PTO policy or separate policies for vacation, personal days and sick leave, [this article describes] some of the pros and cons of each.... Payout of Leave upon Termination ... Carryover of Accrued Leave ... Tracking of Leave ... How and When Leave is Earned ... Waiting Periods for Accruing and Using Leave ... Flexibility and Morale ... Privacy Issues ... Employers' Bottom Line."

Cook County Joins Chicago and Other Jurisdictions in Mandating Paid Sick Leave

"The only significant difference between the Cook County and Chicago ordinances is enforcement. Under Cook County's ordinance, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights will administer and enforce the law. Employees will need to file an administrative complaint with the Commission for violations of the Ordinance. If the employee prevails, the penalties for failing to provide paid sick leave include triple the amount of any non-payment or underpayment (with interest), as well as attorneys' fees and costs to the prevailing employee of pursuing his or her claim."

DOL Issues Final Rule on Paid Sick Leave for Employees of Federal Contractors and Subcontractors

"An employee may use the leave for his or her own physical or mental illness, injury, medical condition, treatment or diagnosis as well as that of any person with whom the employee has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship.... [This could include] a foster child or foster parent, a friend of a family, or even an elderly neighbor in certain circumstances."

San Diego Sick Leave Ordinance to Take Effect Soon

"The Ordinance will take effect immediately upon approval by the City Council, which will likely occur by mid-July.... The Ordinance specifically highlights different reasons for which the earned sick leave may be used, including for the employee's own medical condition or for a covered family member's medical condition. In addition, employees may use earned sick leave if a public health emergency causes an employee's workplace or a child's school or child care provider to close. For an absence of more than three consecutive work days, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the use of earned sick leave was for a reason permitted under the Ordinance."

Starting July 1, 2016, Employees in Los Angeles Get Three Additional Days of Paid Sick Leave

"An employee will be entitled to the paid sick leave if, on or after July 1, 2016, the employee works in the City of Los Angeles for the same employer for 30 days or more within a year. Employers may provide that new employees may not use paid sick leave for the first 90 days of employment. Employees may use paid sick time for themselves and to care for family members."