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Improper Sick-Leave Deal May Cost Atlantic City School District $3 Million

Excerpt: The school district may have to pay nearly $3 million to the state's pension fund for an allegedly improper attempt to spur early retirements with special financial incentives, according to documents[.]

Delray Beach, FL and Florida Atlantic University Latest to Sanction Domestic Partner Benefits

Excerpt: Delray Beach joins other public employers locally in agreeing to provide domestic partner employee benefits. As well, a new nondiscrimination policy at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is being viewed as 'a victory' for gay and lesbian students and employees, according to Rand Hoch, founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (HRC).

Atlantic City Casino Union Fights Pay Cut, Benefits Proposal

In addition, [a union president] said, the casinos want union members to start contributing for the first time toward the cost of their health and pension benefits. Over the past seven years, workers' base pay has risen by only 55 cents an hour because the union has been adamant about protecting health benefits[.]

Sereboff v. Mid-Atlantic Medical Services Health Plan Subrogation Case

Originally published May 18, 2006. Excerpt: The Court's decision goes a long way towards reconciling a number of conflicting decisions ... [but] the factual context of the case is likely to continue to spawn disputes over the circumstances that permit recovery.... [such as] situations where a segregated investment account does not exist or where the participant does not continue to hold the money.

Speech: Pension Rights Center at IRS/ASPPA Mid-Atlantic Benefits Conference, May 9, 2006 (PDF)

12 pages. Excerpt: Given the recent developments in the pension system and the focus on these issues nationally, I think this is a great time to take stock of where we are and ask the big questions about the state of the retirement income system in this country, both today and for the future.

Employers Should Be Aware of Voting Leave Laws for Mid-Atlantic Employees

"Under Maryland law, employees may take up to two hours of paid leave to vote on Election Day if they do not have two consecutive off-duty hours while polls are open.... Under D.C. Law, employees may take up to two hours of paid leave to vote in person (wherever they are registered to vote, including outside the District, and regardless of whether they have sufficient off-duty time in which to vote).... Under W.V. law, employees may take up to three hours of leave to vote, which is paid unless the employee had at least three consecutive off-duty hours in which to vote but failed to do so."

Freedom, Responsibility ... and What? Social Security Reform -- an Explanation

Excerpt: Social Security funding, as a plot device, makes for a languidly paced political thriller. The president discovers a ticking time bomb that's been sitting in plain view for seventy years. It must be disarmed, either with mildly risky partial privatization or with somewhat hazardous tax and benefit adjustments. Cut the blue-state wire? Cut the red-state wire? [This article originally appeared in the May, 2005 issue of the Atlantic.]

The Health Care Mandate Is Clearly a Tax and Therefore Constitutional

"The mandate is an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code, and it is calculated based on a percentage of adjusted gross income or a fixed amount, whichever is larger. Starting in 2014, it will be collected on your form 1040 just like your other taxes.... [Justice] Roberts and [Justice] Kennedy are no doubt aware of the political meaning of a 5-4 vote along party lines that gives Republicans what they could not get through the democratic political process. That concern, and the long history of deference to Congress on economic legislation, give the justices strong reasons to uphold the act. The tax argument offers them a way out. "

The Next Major Challenge to the ACA: Zero-Dollar Coverage for Preventive Services

"The next big case has already been filed, and it involves a clash between an obscure constitutional provision and the law's guarantee of zero-dollar coverage for preventive services.... The stakes will be lower this time around -- the whole law isn't threatened. But they're significant nonetheless.... This time, the law's opponents stand a good chance of succeeding." [Kelley v. Becerra, No. 20-283 (N.D. Tex. complaint filed Mar. 29, 2020)]

The Decade-Long Slowdown in U.S. Healthcare Spending

"Over the past decade, the growth of total U.S. medical spending has actually slowed by about half, falling from an annual rate of more than 8 percent in 2003 to 4 percent in 2012 ... [T]hese numbers do suggest that doctors and insurers have at least begun to get a handle on expenses. While some of the slowdown can be credited to patients cutting back during the recession, the trend started before the economy fell apart and has lasted into the recovery. But here's a red flag: The rate hasn't dropped much in the last few years. Instead, it's stayed roughly even, ranging between 3.5 percent and 5 percent a year since 2010."