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The gross misconduct exception under COBRA means that if an employee’s employment is terminated due to gross misconduct, continuation coverage does not have to be offered to the terminated employee or the terminated employee’s family. One of the many tricky aspects of administering the gross misconduct rule is that the decision should be made at […]
Many struggling but optimistic employers have continued to offer medical, dental, and other benefits to employees on furlough during the COVID-19 pandemic. But with no immediate end in sight, they’re wondering what to do next.
I like watching baseball. Few things in life beat going to a weekday day game during the summer at Oracle Park (or even the Oakland Coliseum). Yet sadly, due to the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak, Major League Baseball has canceled the remainder of its spring training games and the 2020 regular season will be delayed by at […]
In part one of this article we explored the Department of Labor’s (DOL) guidance for locating missing participants in the event of a plan termination. Today we will look at what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable alternatives.
When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law December 22, 2017, several proposed changes to the federal tax code that would have affected tax-qualified retirement plans were dropped. However, some of those changes were brought back as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 enacted in early February of this […]
Defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors should be aware of a change under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that extends the period during which a participant may pay the amount of an “offset” of an outstanding 401(k) plan loan to another qualifying plan or individual retirement account (IRA) to accomplish a tax-free rollover of […]
by Matthew Larsen A British Columbia court recently explored a novel issue – whether a noncompetition clause is enforceable against a seasonal employee. Facts In See Thru Window Cleaners Inc. v. Mahood, 2016 BCSC 2134, the employer was in the seasonal business of window cleaning, gutter cleaning, and pressure cleaning. It employed most workers in […]
by Bruce R. Grist As there is no employment at will in Canada, most employment lawyers in Canada who act for employers recommend that employers use employment contracts to govern the employee’s relationship with the employer. If there is an employment contract and the employer wishes to terminate the employee’s employment or the employee wishes […]
By Michel Bellemare Every job has its own peculiarities. What might be a minor shortcoming in one type of employment could be catastrophic in another. This is especially true when the breach touches on the very heart of the duties assigned to an employee. This, at least, is what an employee learned in a recent […]
by Louise Béchamp As a Québec employer recently learned, an alleged breach in the relationship of trust between employer and employee must be supported by objective evidence and facts if it is to form cause for termination of employment. In Senécal vs. CEGEP du Vieux Montréal, 2012 QCCS 1995, the employer was ordered to pay […]