What’s new in the world of medical marijuana, as it impacts your workplace?  Quite a bit, actually.  Here is the rundown. PA Medical Marijuana Act – Anxiety and Tourette’s Syndrome Added to List of Serious Medical Conditions Effective July 20, 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Health added anxiety disorders and Tourette’s syndrome to the list of serious medical conditions for which a patient can obtain medical marijuana.  Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary of Health for the…

In a case that started back in February of 2013 – when Security called 9-1-1 and had police escort non-employee union organizers out of the employer’s cafeteria – the Board “modified” decades of its own precedent.  Sort of. Some background. The National Labor Relations Act requires that employers refrain from interference, discrimination, restraint or coercion with respect to employees’ exercise of their right to engage in union activity.  In 1956, the United States Supreme Court…

On June 13, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services issued final regulations which expand the options for employers to fund health insurance for employees.  Previously, employers were not permitted to establish heath reimbursement accounts (“HRAs”) for employees to purchase individual health insurance coverage unless the employer had less than 50 full-time employees and did not maintain a group health plan.  That will change on…

The issue of independent contractors and employment status continues to vex employers and present substantial liability risks.  The employment laws generally cover only employees, not independent contractors.  Properly classified independent contractors cannot have viable claims under the discrimination laws, wage and hour laws, leave laws, workers’ compensation laws, etc., because they are not covered by these laws. Misclassification of an independent contractor, however, can result in liability under many laws for the unwary employer.  Independent…

By now, you are no doubt aware that the long-debated pay data component (“Component 2”) to the EEO1 Report is a requirement for this year’s reporting.  The requirement first surfaced in 2016 but was the subject of repeated litigation that kept it from being implemented.  Now, the EEOC has stated that it will open a portal for reporting by July 15th, and employers will have until September 30, 2019, to file their EEO1 Report, including…

In Revenue Procedure 2019-19 effective April 19, 2019, the IRS expanded a plan sponsor’s ability to Self-Correct certain retirement plan failures. This expansion makes it easier for plan sponsors to fix retirement plan mistakes without paying the fee assessed for corrections and, more importantly, without contacting the IRS. The changes expand the Self-Correction Program in three categories: plan loans, operational errors, and document failures. Plan sponsors may now self-correct certain failures with respect to plan…