McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsHow the American Jobs Plan Would Affect the Workplace
By McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 21, 2021
Posted In Employment, Labor
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, union neutrality and changes to wages and enforcement of health and safety regulations are part of the legislative plan on its way to Congress. Of these proposals, the PRO Act, which has already passed the US House of Representatives, may face the most opposition in the Senate....
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VIDEO: Can Employers Insist Their Workers Have COVID Vaccines?
By McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 6, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
A recent poll in the United Kingdom revealed there was a high level of support among managers for making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for staff returning to work, with half of the respondents believing office access should be restricted for those who refused to get a vaccination on non-medical grounds. But what are the legal, ethical...
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American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Employment Law Update
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 19, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
US President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) on March 11, 2021. ARPA follows from weeks of negotiations in Congress and attempts to facilitate the country’s recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in ARPA are several provisions that impact employers, including provisions on...
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4 Discrimination Law Questions Looming as Biden Era Begins
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 16, 2021
Posted In Employment, Labor, Privacy and Data Security
President Joe Biden is expected to usher in a decidedly more worker-friendly environment than his predecessor, but whether Congress or the courts embrace similar pro-employee leanings over the next four years is anyone’s guess. In a recent article for Law360, McDermott partner Daniel Doron weighs in on four top-of-mind questions about bias law that may...
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Employee Rewards in M&A Transactions: Comparability Provisions
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 9, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employment, Executive Compensation, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans
Companies enter into merger & acquisition (M&A) deals for a range of reasons, but how employees are treated once a deal closes depends largely on the buyer’s deal strategy. Often the buyer signs a deal under the promise that the acquired business’ employees will continue to receive rewards at deal close that are comparable to...
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AB 5 Contractor-Classification Battles Set to Heat Up in 2021
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 4, 2021
Posted In Employment, Labor
Employers grappling with independent-contractor classification had a busy 2020—and should expect a flurry of additional activity this year. Few areas in employment law are changing as rapidly. Last year, many concerned about the future of contractor-classification laws paid careful attention to California and AB 5, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, and codified...
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Predictions on the Long-Term Outlook for Remote Work
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 2, 2021
Posted In Employment, Labor
With a second wave of COVID-19 infections forecasted by some experts and many companies actually seeing improvements in productivity as their employees work from home, it’s very possible that the current state of affairs could become a new normal, with companies either continuing remote work indefinitely or at least revisiting their existing policies around occasional...
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Making Sure It Hurts: 2021 Increased Penalties for ERISA Violations
By Diane Morgenthaler and McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 24, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor, Retirement Plans
The Department of Labor (DOL) made inflation adjustments to a wide range of penalties for Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) violations by employee benefit plans and plan sponsors. The new penalty amounts that apply in 2021 are included herein. Access the article.
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Hurry Up and Wait: Department of Labor Delays Implementation of New Worker Classification Regulations
By P. Kevin Connelly and McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 16, 2021
Posted In Employment, Labor
Businesses strive to draw the line correctly on who is an employee versus who is an independent contractor. New regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) in early January promised to help. See, 29 CFR §§795.100. But by late January, those regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were frozen. Unlike laws passed...
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Uniformity Needed in State Teleworking Guidance, Practitioners Say
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 10, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Labor
The patchwork of teleworking guidance issued by states during the COVID-19 pandemic is creating withholding challenges for employers that could be unconstitutional, according to tax practitioners. In a recent article in Tax Notes, McDermott partner Alysse McLoughlin outlined employer tax concerns amid an increasingly remote workforce. Access the article.
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