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Selected articles concerning employment related issues noted by law firms

Selected articles concerning employment related issues noted by law firms
Source: The Lexology newsfeed
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Pennsylvania - Third Circuit holds that a party cannot ?opt out? of the Federal Arbitration Act in its entiretyJorden Burt LLPThe Third Circuit has affirmed a judgment in favor of several foreign reinsurers confirming arbitration awards against the statutory liquidator (the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner) for two insolvent insurance companies, but reversed a sanctions award against the Commissioner.

Fourth Circuit determines that legally objectionable behavior by counsel is not enough to overturn arbitration awardGoldberg Segalla LLPThis appeal arises from a contract dispute concerning the construction of a wastewater treatment plant.

New York - Western District of New York upholds non-compete and grants TROSeyfarth Shaw LLPPlaintiff IDG USA, LLC (?IDG?), a Georgia company with its principal place of business in North Carolina, commenced an action against a former employee, Kevin J. Schupp (?Schupp?), a New York resident, alleging breaches of a Non-Compete Agreement, breach of a Confidentiality Agreement, unfair competition, and theft of trade secrets.

New York - NY DOL issues revised WARN regulationsBond Schoeneck & KingEarlier this year, we posted on the New York State Department of Labor's new regulations governing New York's WARN Act, the state statute that requires certain employers to provide 90 days notice to employees, their employees' unions, if any, and to government agencies, before engaging in certain actions which result in losses of employment.

Shutting down corporate pick-pocketsGardere Wynne Sewell LLPA 10-year employee accounting manager systematically transfers amounts via ACH to her personal checking account.

Georgia - Eleventh Circuit finds 43-city non-compete enforceable under Georgia lawSeyfarth Shaw LLPOn August 19, 2010, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court's denial of a motion for injunctive relief regarding enforcement of an employer's non-compete and non-solicitation provisions.

Illinois - New Illinois law prohibits use of credit checks for many employment-related purposesBarnes & Thornburg LLPEffective Jan. 1, 2011, it will be an unlawful employment practice, except under limited circumstances, for an Illinois employer to use an applicant?s or employee?s credit history in making employment-related decisions.

Proposed legislation seeks to expand FLSA coverage to in-home workersFox Rothschild LLPUnder the proposed Workforce Empowerment Act (S 3696), introduced in the Senate on August 3, 2010, in-home direct care workers who work more than twenty hours per week will be covered by the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

PHMSA incorporates new and updated consensus standards into pipeline safety regulations and clarifies certain safety regulationsVan Ness FeldmanOn August 11, 2010, the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final rule incorporating by reference into the federal pipeline safety regulations new and updated voluntary consensus technical standards and making certain regulatory clarifications.

Massachusetts - Massachusetts personnel records statute amended to require employers to notify employees when negative information is placed in personnel recordsGoodwin Procter LLPMassachusetts recently enacted an economic development statute which contains an important amendment to the Massachusetts Personnel Records Statute, G.L. c. 149, §52C.

Congress considers HIRE Act extensionMcGuireWoods LLPSen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) have introduced legislation into the Senate and House of Representatives intended to extend the HIRE Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010, by six months.

District of Columbia - D.C. Circuit decision ratchets up the risk for employers who use location trackingLittler Mendelson PCEmployers are increasingly tracking their employees' whereabouts as smartphones, laptops, and vehicles equipped with location-tracing technology become ever more prevalent.

Election data survey shows unions gaining traction in hospitalsLittler Mendelson PCLittler recently reviewed union election results at hospitals over the last five years.

Liability for breach of industrial safety requirements is intensifiedLittler Mendelson PCEffective January 1, 2011, the administrative liability for organizations having dangerous production facilities, and officers of these organizations for breach of industrial safety requirements, will be intensified.

Illinois - New Illinois law puts credit reports and credit history off limits for most employers and most positionsLittler Mendelson PCOn August 10, Illinois enacted a new state law called the "Employee Credit Privacy Act" that will take effect January 1, 2011.

Illinois - Illinois continues state law trend towards restrictions on the use of credit history in employment decisionsLittler Mendelson PCAn article that I recently published in BNA's Privacy & Security Law Report examined the incipient trend towards state law restrictions on the use of credit history in employment decisions.

Illinois - Illinois employers face new restrictions on use of credit historyQuarles & BradyOn August 10, 2010, Illinois enacted the Employee Credit Privacy Act (the "Act").

Virginia - Amendments to Virginia wage payment act provide employers with greater flexibility in paying wagesWilliams MullenChanges to the Virginia Payment of Wage Law, Va. Code Ann. § 40.1-29, now provide additional flexibility for employers who wish to streamline their payroll process.

Illinois - New Illinois law bans employee credit checksThompson Coburn LLPOn August 10, 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into a law a bill that prohibits Illinois employers from running credit checks on prospective or current employees.

Michigan - Michigan?s workplace smoking ban: are you compliant?Foley & Lardner LLPAs a reminder to employers with operations in Michigan, amendments to the Michigan Clean Indoor Air Act took effect on May 1, 2010.

Guidance issued regarding internal claims, appeals, and external review processesMcKenna Long & AldridgeThis is the sixth in a series of alerts intended to help guide employers and plan sponsors through their new obligations under the recently-enacted health care reform laws and related guidance.

Health reform Q&A for employers - updateBaker & Daniels LLPIn the last two months, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services published three additional sets of interim final regulations to address compliance requirements in the first significant round of changes to impact group health plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Things to consider about your plans: some best practicesFox Rothschild LLPBenefit plan design, administration and documentation is not thrilling stuff.

Federal Register announcementBricker & Eckler LLPOn August 26, 2010, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services published in the Federal Register an announcement of the availability of EBSA Technical Release No. 2010-01 providing an interim enforcement safe harbor for non-grandfathered self-insured group health plans not subject to a state external review process and, therefore, subject to the federal external review process.

New Jersey - New Jersey settles with SEC but question remains: who?s next?Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLPOn August 18, 2010 the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued Release No 33-9135, a cease and desist order (the Order) settling claims against the state of New Jersey as a result of what the SEC determined was inadequate disclosure of the financial condition of New Jersey's pension funds.

Health care reform ? regulations issued on expanded internal/external claims review process for nongrandfathered group health plansHunton & Williams LLPOn July 19, 2010, the United States Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury issued interim final regulations covering the mandates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended (the "Health Care Reform Act"), relating to the internal and external claims review process.

Federal external review procedure for group health plansCovington & Burling LLPThe health reform law requires non-grandfathered group health plans to meet new standards for processing internal claims and appeals, and also requires these plans to implement a new external review procedure.

EBSA proposes rule amending prohibited transaction exemption filing and processing proceduresLittler Mendelson PCThe Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has published a proposed rule that would update the filing and processing procedures related to the prohibited transaction exemption under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

IRS questionnaire: failure to respond will incur enforcement actionBaker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PCIn May, the Internal Revenue Service's Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) began issuing questionnaires to employers that sponsor 401(k) plans as a part of its 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire Project.

Pennsylvania - Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court provides direction in residency hearingsFox Rothschild LLPIn the recent case of Behm v Wilmington Area School District, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court provided some clarity on the due process rights of parents involved in a residency dispute with a school district.

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Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on September 03, 2010 (boomark / email).