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ERISA Plan Sponsors – Watch Your Participants’ Data! DOL Issues New Cybersecurity Guidance for Retirement Plans

By Beth Alcalde, Elizabeth F. Hodge & Amber Roberts

April 16, 2021

In response to a recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report recommending federal guidance to mitigate cybersecurity risks in retirement plans and to respond to ever-increasing cyber threats to plan participant data and plan assets, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) published its first cybersecurity guidance for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, record keepers, and plan participants of ERISA-covered retirement plans. The guidance issued on April 14, 2021 address the following three topics: Cybersecurity program best …

HR Defense

California Employers May No Longer Round Time for Meal Periods

By Ashley Bobo

April 5, 2021

California employers may not apply time-rounding procedures to meal period time entries, based on a recent California Supreme Court decision. The decision provides two key takeaways for California employers:…

HR Defense

Growing State and Local Equal Pay Protections

By Brittany Buccellato

April 1, 2021

Pay equity will be a focus of the Biden Administration, as was made clear in the White House Proclamation on Equal Pay Day last week. But states are not waiting on the federal government to act; several are moving forward with pay transparency and equity laws. California is the first state to enact its own pay data reporting law, with the first reporting deadline this week, and more changes are coming.…

HR Defense

Facing Exposure: Dealing with Mask Refusers in the Workplace

By Dana N. Berber

March 29, 2021

As various states (Texas, Mississippi, Montana, Iowa, and many more) have done away with mask mandates and as vaccinations become more widely disseminated amongst the general population, many individuals may be emboldened to throw their face coverings in the trash and never look back. However, employers may be hesitant to lift mask requirements and other COVID-19 protocol in their workplaces for a variety of (valid) reasons. But can employees refuse to don masks as they…

HR Defense

Paid Leave and Payroll Tax Credits Under the American Rescue Plan

By Melissa L. Cizmorris

March 25, 2021

Employers wading through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act may be wondering how it impacts paid leave and payroll tax credits made available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), enacted back in March 2020. Here’s the scoop:…

HR Defense

Be Prepared For Increase In COVID-19 Inspections Under OSHA’s New National Emphasis Program

By Sul Kim, Lillian Chaves Moon & Jessica Travers

March 23, 2021

On March 12, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) designed to significantly reduce worker exposure to COVID-19 by targeting industries and worksites where employees may have a high frequency of close-contact exposures. The new NEP on COVID-19 has two main components:…

HR Defense

New COBRA Obligations for Employers Included in Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Stimulus

By Beth Alcalde & Amber Roberts

March 16, 2021

For employers with group health plans, COBRA obligations under President Biden’s premiere $1.9 trillion stimulus legislation, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Rescue Plan”) are an early priority. The Rescue Plan was signed by the President on March 11, 2021. Below is an overview of the Rescue Plan’s COBRA relief, which provides a 6-month, 100% premium subsidy for eligible employees who lose group health insurance as a result of either an involuntary termination…

HR Defense

Do the Business Liability Shield Laws Give Employers Immunity From COVID-19 Lawsuits

By Ana C. Dowell

March 15, 2021

Not really. Like the COVID-19 vaccines, these “business liability shields” may provide a layer of protection for some employers, but they in no way guarantee immunity from lawsuits. Since early last year, business leaders expressed concerns about continuing with operations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic—mainly because they feared exposing their businesses to lawsuits arising from the transmission of the virus. Indeed, it was this growing business concern that caused Congress to propose the SAFE TO WORK…

HR Defense

What Employers Should Do Based on the Revisions to the EEOC’s Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination

By Rukayat Salaam

March 11, 2021

Employers have new obligations and employees have new rights under the EEOC’s newly finalized revisions to the agency’s Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination. The Compliance Manual does not have the force of law, but sets forth how the EEOC analyzes claims under the law, and provides useful guidance to employers. Although a large portion of the Religious Discrimination Section of the Manual remains the same, there are a few noteworthy changes for employers to…

HR Defense

COVID Infections May Be Down But COVID Lawsuits Are Up: What Employers Should Consider

By Corina Valderrama

March 3, 2021

It comes as no surprise that employee claims against employers are on the rise. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a drastic decline in newly filed employment-related lawsuits. The decline was likely the result of shelter-in-place orders and other restrictions on working in the workplace. However, the months of November 2020 and December 2020 saw a spike of more than a 17% increase in new employment cases, as compared to the…

HR Defense

Akerman Insights on the Latest Developments in Labor and Employment Law

Blog Authors

ERISA Plan Sponsors – Watch Your Participants’ Data! DOL Issues New Cybersecurity Guidance for Retirement Plans

California Employers May No Longer Round Time for Meal Periods

Growing State and Local Equal Pay Protections

Facing Exposure: Dealing with Mask Refusers in the Workplace

Paid Leave and Payroll Tax Credits Under the American Rescue Plan

Be Prepared For Increase In COVID-19 Inspections Under OSHA’s New National Emphasis Program

New COBRA Obligations for Employers Included in Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Stimulus

Do the Business Liability Shield Laws Give Employers Immunity From COVID-19 Lawsuits

What Employers Should Do Based on the Revisions to the EEOC’s Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination

COVID Infections May Be Down But COVID Lawsuits Are Up: What Employers Should Consider

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