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Pay Discrimination: Congress Responds to Supreme Court’s Ruling

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employees who complain of pay discrimination under Title VII, the federal antibias law, must file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the discriminatory pay-setting decision, rather than within 180 days of the employee’s last paycheck. This decision was good news for […]

News Notes: IRS Clarifies Pension Amendment Notice Rules

The Internal Revenue Service has issued new regulations which clarify that plan administrators must provide 15 days’ written notice before the effective date of retirement plan amendments which result in a significant reduction in future benefit accrual. The rules apply to both defined benefit and money purchase plans. If some plan participants don’t receive notice […]

Pension Plans: County Pension Calculation Ruling Is Retroactive; Huge Costs for Employers

Several years ago, the California Supreme Court ruled that under the County Employees’ Retirement Law, counties have to include all types of monetary compensation-such as cash payments for bilingual premium pay, a uniform allowance, or cashed-out accrued vacation-when determining the amount on which an employee’s pension will be based.But some plan members took their counties […]

Bulletin: U.S. Supreme Court rules on ERISA case

In a unanimous decision favorable to employees, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that individual 401(k) plan participants can sue plan administrators under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for breach of fiduciary duty. James LaRue had initiated the lawsuit after his employer failed to follow his investment instructions, which he said resulted […]

News Notes: DOL Unveils New E-Laws Advisor For Federal Contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the latest in its series of e-laws Advisors. The new Advisor assists federal contractors and subcontractors in understanding basic coverage and compliance information for several laws that the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforces. You can access the new Advisor on the DOL website.

Departments Release Health Care Reform Regulations on Preventive Care

On Monday, July 19, the Federal Register published interim final regulations from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury requiring new health plans beginning on or after September 23, 2010, to cover certain evidence-based preventive care without cost sharing. In other words, plans cannot charge patients copayments, coinsurance, or […]

Disability Bias: New Fact Sheet on Hearing Impairments in the Workplace

In the latest in a series of facts sheets focusing on specific disabilities, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides guidance on how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to applicants and employees who are deaf or hearing impaired. This is an important focus for employers, given that there are between 28.6 and 31.5 million […]