The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
Are Your Employee Benefits Plans Ready for the New Year or Is It the Same Auld Lang Syne?
Holiday season and the end of the year are both quickly approaching, and with the turning of the calendar from 2021 to 2022 come several employee benefit plan amendment deadlines and implementation requirements. Some of these changes are optional for plan sponsors to adopt so now is a good time
White House Announces Relaxation of COVID-19–Related Travel Restrictions to the United States, Beginning on November 8, 2021
As a follow-up to its September 20, 2021 announcement, the White House announced on October 15, 2021, that it would lift the travel ban for fully vaccinated foreign nationals starting November 8, 2021.
Arkansas Seeks to Amend President Biden’s Mandate
On October 13, 2021, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson allowed a new law addressing mandated COVID-19 vaccines for employees to go into effect without his signature. The Arkansas legislation specifically allows employees to opt out of COVID-19 vaccine requirements by means other than the medical or religious exemptions allowed by federal law,
Is the Tide Turning on Website Accessibility Claims? California Court of Appeal Upholds a ‘Bona Fide Intent’ Requirement
The Court of Appeal of the State of California, Fourth Appellate District, recently handed a potentially significant website accessibility win to the business community under the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act) when it upheld a jury verdict in Thurston v. Omni Hotels Mgmt. Corp. (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 23,
Governor Newsom Signs Bill Allowing for Virtual Administrative Hearings
On September 30, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill (AB) No. 1578, which amends Government Code section 11425.20(a) to provide that administrative hearings shall be open to the public, including by live audio or video.
California Imposes Significant New Restrictions on Severance and Settlement Agreements
On October 7, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) No. 331 into law. SB 331 is known as the “Silenced No More Act.” It amends California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1001 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and imposes significant new restrictions on
New York State Division of Human Rights Discontinues Private Settlements—Is This Another Hurdle to Settlement?
The New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR) recently announced that for complaints filed on or after October 12, 2021, it will no longer discontinue complaints following private settlements. This announcement comes as a significant change in the division’s long-standing practice of allowing parties to privately settle complaints before
Plaintiff’s Employment Discrimination Civil Action Is Timely—Until It Is Not
A district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently dismissed a case due to the plaintiff’s failure to file suit within the allotted time identified in the notice of right to sue (NRTS) that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued. Moyer v.
Texas Governor Issues Executive Order Significantly Limiting the Ability of Many Employers to Mandate Vaccines
On October 11, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order (EO) No. GA-40, prohibiting any entity in Texas from requiring any individual, including an employee, to receive a COVID-19 vaccination if that individual objects to the vaccination “for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for
Beltway Buzz, October 8, 2021
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
New York HERO Act Alert: COVID-19 Designation as Highly Contagious Communicable Disease Extended Until October 31, 2021
As we previously reported, on September 6, 2021, New York State Commissioner of Health Howard A. Zucker issued a designation determining COVID-19 to be “a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health in New York State.”
Health Plan Surcharge for Unvaccinated Employees: New Guidance Provides a Roadmap
Employers that are considering imposing health plan premium surcharges to encourage their employees to get vaccinated have clearer guidance on how to do so without running afoul of the nondiscrimination rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Both vaccination surcharges and incentives are permitted by
Sixth Circuit Rules Interest Rate Methodology Selected by Plan Actuary in Withdrawal Liability Calculation Violates ERISA
In a rare victory for employers that participate in multiemployer pension plans, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the interest rate memorialized in the Segal Blend actuarial assumption was inappropriate to use in a withdrawal liability calculation because it is not based on “anticipated experience under the plan.”
New California Law Allows Employers to Email Workplace Notifications to Remote Workers
To address the prevalent and ongoing practice of permitting employees to work from home, a new California law authorizes employers to provide required workplace notifications to their employees as attachments to emails. Senate Bill (SB) No. 657 was signed into law on July 16, 2021. While the new law maintains
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