Insights

Jackie Ford, a partner in the Houston office, authored an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle titled “When Talking Politics at the Office Can and Can’t Get You Fired.” 

Indiana courts enforce restrictive covenants in employment agreements only if they are reasonable.

In 2017, Philadelphia became the first city to prohibit private employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s wage history and from relying on an applicant’s wage history in setting his or her salary.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

The federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (WARN Act) requires employers to provide employees with advance notice of certain plant closings and mass layoffs.

Over Governor Larry Hogan’s veto, the Maryland General Assembly recently enacted legislation to prohibit employers from initially seeking job applicants’ criminal records. 

Jennifer Dunsizer, a partner in the Columbus office, authored a Lexis Practice Advisor^® Practice Note titled “Participant Investment Advice and Education Considerations for Retirement Plan Fiduciaries.”

On December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in Texas v. U.S. that the provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires individuals to maintain health insurance or pay a “shared responsibility payment” (i.e., the individual mandate) is unconstitutional.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act generally eliminated the exception to the $1M deduction cap imposed under Code Section 162(m).

The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA) grants qualified medical marijuana users who are using marijuana in accordance with the MMMA immunity from “arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner.”

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia currently prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression.

The Vorys Employee Benefits Team has drafted alerts covering an array of regulatory and legislative changes throughout the year.

In December 2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania enacted its “Fair Workweek Employment Standards Ordinance” to mandate predictable pay and scheduling for employees in the retail, food service, and hospitality industries.

On December 2, 2019, the IRS published Notice 2019-63, announcing a 31-day extension of the deadline to distribute 2019 Form 1095-Cs to employees.

Starting January 1, 2020, a new California state law will require employers to notify employees in California of any deadline to withdraw funds from a flexible spending account (FSA) prior to the end of the plan year.

On October 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed regulations on a new safe harbor for electronic disclosures for retirement plans governed by ERISA.

On October 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed regulations on a new safe harbor for electronic disclosures for retirement plans governed by ERISA.

Now that PBMs are able to track copay coupons using copay accumulator programs, additional guidance is needed from the IRS to determine whether plan sponsors are required to implement copay accumulator programs for HSA-compatible HDHPs. 

As we previously reported in Part I of this series, the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (WTA) will significantly change the contours of employment, separation, and settlement agreements when it becomes effective on January 1, 2020.

Jeff Heller, of counsel in the Vorys Houston office and a member of the labor and employment group, authored an article for Texas Lawyer titled “Managing Whistleblowers from an Employer’s Perspective.”