In 1970, when Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the “Act”) and created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( “OSHA”), it initially gave OSHA two years to adopt existing, industry-specific federal safety standards without going through formal rule-making procedures. OSHA thus adopted...
On June 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) finalized a rule that, in pertinent part, repealed an Obama-era rule related to the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).The ACA provides that an individual shall not, on the grounds...
The U.S. Supreme Court, in Bostock v. Clayton, issued a landmark decision, ruling that Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status. This decision affirms, as many Circuit Courts of Appeal have held, that Title VII...
On June 1, 2020, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that two plan participants of a defined-benefit plan had no standing to sue their plan’s fiduciaries because, win or lose, the participants would receive the same monthly benefits and, thus, the participants...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released guidance regarding business closures due to COVID-19 and the implications of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Because of the fact-specific inquiry under the WARN Act, if you have any specific questions regarding your business...
On August 12, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that included three amendments to the representation election regulations found in Title 29, part 103 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of the amendments is to “better protect...
On February 26, 2020, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held in Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma, 140 S.Ct. 768 (2020) that to meet the “actual knowledge” requirement triggering the three-year limitations period in Section 413(2) of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act...
The Second Circuit recently became the second federal court of appeals to definitively rule that discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a 10-3 decision in Zarda v. Altitude Express,...
In an opinion letter issued April 12, 2018, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) determined that an employer is not required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to compensate an employee for time the employee spends taking 15-minute breaks once every hour during the work...
On December 22, 2017, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that, for purposes of calculating overtime under Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act (“PMWA”), an employer may calculate the employee’s “regular rate” by dividing the employee’s salary in a given week by the number of hours the employee...