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This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that reflect the precise nature of rules and definitions in the context of ERISA claims. For example, effective dates of CFR code provisions and contractually defined limitation periods can draw specific points on the timeline of a case. Similarly...
New Guidance for Employers on Severance/Separation Agreements The National Labor Relations Board’s recent McLaren Macomb decision, discussed here, regarding the lawfulness of confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in severance agreements, left several unanswered questions. NLRB General...
The continued efforts of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to roll back pro-employer rulings issued during the Trump Administration took a big jump forward recently when the Board effectively barred the use of certain types of confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in severance...
This month's Friday Five covers cases relating to issue preclusion, coverage where the policy terms are inconsistent with the parties’ behavior, application of the abuse of discretion standard of review, applicability of a waiver of premium provision and compliance with a mandatory appeals process...
Last week, in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, the Supreme Court reminded employers that high-earning professionals are only exempt from overtime under the FLSA if they are paid on a salary basis. The case concerned Michael Hewitt, an oil rig worker who earned over $200,000 annually...
On February 17, 2023, in Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc., 2023 IL 128004, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a sweeping decision concerning the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), which restricts the collection, retention, and disclosure of any “retina or iris scan, fingerprint...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to potential impacts of COVID-19, full and fair review of the claim file, an attempt to use an insurer’s internal policy against itself, and a “second bite at the apple” by amending a complaint for denial of benefits to include a claim for breach of...
After nearly three years of waiting and speculation, the amended New Jersey WARN Act that was first signed into law in January 2020, will finally become effective on April 10, 2023. The amended New Jersey WARN Act, also known as the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (...
It is a new year, and there are new requirements in New York and on the federal level for employers to accommodate employees expressing milk following the birth of a child. New York In December, New York passed a law that imposes new obligations on employers providing lactation accommodations. The...
With a passing vote from both the Illinois House and Senate on January 10, 2023, the new “Paid Leave for All Workers Act” is primed to become a new law guaranteeing almost all Illinois workers paid leave for any reason. Also known as SB 208 Amendment 4, the bill is expected to be signed into law by...
Last year, safety compliance in the cannabis industry took on a new dimension when the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited production company Life Essence Inc, d/b/a Trulieve (Trulieve) for an employee’s fatal asthma attack following workplace exposure to ground...
As expected, Governor Hochul recently signed a new pay transparency law ( S.9427-A/A.10477) that will impact nearly every job posting in the state of New York. Like New York City’s pay transparency law that went into effect last year (which WISE blogged about here), employers and recruiting agencies...
On January 5, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ NPRM”), seeking comments on a proposed rule that would effectively ban the use of non-compete agreements, nationwide. In a typical non-compete agreement, employees agree not to work for a...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to discovery in ERISA benefits cases, an appellate court strictly interpreting ERISA regulatory deadlines, a district court authorizing an ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claim based on alleged misrepresentations from an employer, another district court...
New protections from discrimination are set to become a reality in Pennsylvania. On December 8, 2022, Pennsylvania’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved a proposed regulation from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) amending the definitions of sex, religious creed, and...
Last week was a busy one for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The agency came out with four significant decisions that either expanded or protected employee rights on issues such as monetary remedies, the right to organize, and the right to protest. Below, we briefly summarize the...
Background Weeks of phone and text banks, TV and radio advertisements, thousands of door-to-door campaigners, as well as strong pro-labor lobbying resulted in the recent passage of the Illinois Workers’ Rights Amendment. On November 8, 2022, the Workers’ Rights Amendment (also known as Section 25 of...
On December 7, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Speak Out Act (the “Act”), which prevents courts from enforcing certain non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses related to claims of sexual assault or harassment. The Act, which was originally sponsored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in...
On November 29, 2022, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division issued an opinion in Zuluga v. Altice USA stating a former employee must arbitrate her sexual harassment claims that arose in October 2021. In doing so, the appellate panel recognized that the Ending Forced Arbitration of...
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that illustrate the importance of the administrative record built by a claims administrator, and the impact that the depth and thoroughness of the record will have on litigation over claims decisions. Whether reviewing claims under the de novo...