They Said What?!: Protect Your Internal Discussions from Disclosure in Litigation
How the Government Shutdown Affects Employment-Related Agencies and How Employers Can Be Proactive During a Shutdown
Legal Immigration Still Works: The Proof is in the Numbers
Washington Legislative Update: SimTech
Employee’s Religious Accommodations Request Clashes with Employer’s Gender Identity Policy in Pending Fourth Circuit Case
Employee Discipline for Social Media Posting Contrary to Company Values
FTC Abandons Nationwide Ban on Noncompetes, but Signals Ongoing Scrutiny
When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed its nationwide ban on most noncompete provisions in January of 2023, it sent shockwaves through the business community.
Immigration Alert: Presidential Action Regarding H-1B Visa Employees
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 21, 2025: Presidential Action Regarding H-1B Visa Employees
Treasury Department and IRS Take Steps to Implement the “No Tax On Tips” Deduction
On September 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Treasury released a “preliminary list” of jobs that may be entitled to claim a tax deduction for certain wages. This preliminary list includes 68 occupations that “customarily and regularly received tips” on or before December 31, 2024 and thereby qualify for the tax deduction for tips. Additionally, the IRS recently provided a draft Form W-2 for 2026 that reflects changes required by recent legislation.
Court of Appeals Upholds $9.3 Million Award for Nurses Misclassified as Independent Contractors by Healthcare Staffing Agency
407 Maynard Nexsen Lawyers Recognized in 2026 Best Lawyers in America®
Compliance Corner: Nondiscrimination Rules for Health and Welfare Plans
Employers that sponsor health and welfare benefits for their employees must consider whether their cost structures and benefit designs meet the various nondiscrimination requirements that apply to health and welfare plans under federal law, particularly in situations where benefits and/or cost structures vary for different groups of employees. Unlike the nondiscrimination rules that apply to retirement plans, the nondiscrimination rules for group health and welfare plans can, at times, be ambiguous and subject to disparate interpretations. In this Compliance Corner article, we will provide a high-level overview of the various nondiscrimination rules that can apply to health and welfare plans, and we will discuss some of the unsettled ambiguities in the nondiscrimination rules under Sections 125 and 105(h) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”).
Gender-Affirming Care Exclusions and Title VII
A federal court in Georgia recently held that a self-funded plan’s exclusion for gender-affirming surgery violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This decision is likely to have far-reaching effects on fully insured and self-insured plans. While there is no black-letter-law requiring health plans to cover gender affirming/sex change surgery, a ruling such as this from a federal appeals court could effectively requires plans to cover these benefits – lest they run afoul of Title VII and open themselves up to potential liability.