DOL Archives - Page 7 of 29 - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

DOL Proposed Regulations on Proxy Voting

by Todd Solomon and Brian Tiemann | Oct 27, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Fiduciary and Investment Issues

The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule with 30-day comment period to address the application of fiduciaries’ duties with respect to proxy voting and exercises of other shareholder rights. The proposal requires fiduciaries to vote any proxy where the matter being voted upon would have an economic impact on the plan and prohibits fiduciaries from voting any proxy that does not have an economic impact on the plan. In our recent webinar, we reviewed the proposal and explained what the changes mean for plan sponsors.

View the slide deck here.

Healthcare Employers: What You Need to Know about the New FFCRA “Health Care Provider” Exclusion and California COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave

by Michelle S. Strowhiro | Oct 20, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

Healthcare employers are immediately impacted by two recent developments in federal and California COVID-19 paid leave laws: a Department of Labor revision to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and a new California supplemental paid sick leave legislation. For both changes in the law, quick action is required for compliance.

Access the article.

Employer Considerations for Remote and In-Person Workers as the School Year Commences

by Lindsay Ditlow, Pankit Doshi and Michael J. Sheehan | Oct 15, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment

With the school year underway, employers in the United States face a new challenge: childcare-related leave and accommodation requests by employees. With widespread remote learning and evolving legal obligations to provide paid leave to working parents, employers must navigate unique staffing challenges while complying with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and other state and local leave laws. In our recent webinar, we outlined some of the current leave requirements regarding childcare obligations and practical solutions to navigate these uncharted waters.

View the slide deck here.

President Releases Executive Order Prohibiting Training for Contractors and Federal Grant Recipients

by Rachel B. Cowen, James W. Kim and Maria C. Rodriguez | Oct 7, 2020 | Employment, Labor

On September 22, 2020, US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order, which prohibits federal contractors and recipients of federal grants from conducting certain workplace training on race and sex stereotyping. This Executive Order is likely to be challenged on various grounds, including First Amendment grounds, but all employers may wish to review their workplace training materials in anticipation of future Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) action for reverse discrimination.

Access the article.

DOL Provides Guidance on Tracking Telecommuters’ Work Hours

by McDermott Will & Emery | Sep 22, 2020 | Employment, Labor

Employers must use reasonable diligence in tracking nonexempt telecommuters’ work hours and may do this by providing a reporting procedure for unscheduled time, the US Department of Labor (DOL) stated in August 24 guidance. The workers then must be compensated for all reported work hours, even those not requested by the employer.

In a recent article by the Society of Human Resource Management, McDermott partner Ellen Bronchetti explained that employers should have policies that prohibit working off the clock. “If an employer has an expectation that an employee was working from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and the employee works later at night responding to emails, that could lead to wage and hour liability.”

Access the article.

SDNY Vacates Portion of DOL Final Rule on Families First Coronavirus Response Act

by Lindsay Ditlow | Sep 9, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment

On August 3, 2020, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down four parts of the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) Final Rule implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). A copy of the court’s ruling is available here. The FFCRA provides COVID-19-related sick leave and family leave to employees of businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

Access the article.

How Advisers Serving MEPs and PEPs Can Be Conflicted

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 7, 2020 | Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans

The most obvious potential conflict of interest for advisers setting up or serving pooled employer plans is if their practice is affiliated with the investments being selected—but there are other potential pitfalls to acknowledge.

In a recent article, Erin Turley, a partner with McDermott Will & Emery, said a potential conflict of interest for advisers to PEPs would be if they were acting as either a 3(21) or 3(38) fiduciary to help select investments and were paid from plan assets.

Access the article.

The New Electronic Disclosure Rule is Here

by Andrew Liazos | Jul 22, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

Plan Sponsor Council of America hosted a webinar to discuss the new electronic disclosure rule for retirement plans from the US Department of Labor (DOL), which took effect July 26, 2020. The rule allows employers to deliver disclosures to plan participants primarily electronically, which the DOL says will reduce printing, mailing, and related plan costs by an estimated $3.2 billion over the next decade. Speakers included McDermott’s Andrew Liazos, and the topics discussed included:

New Safe Harbors, Effective Date and Scope of Rules
Notice and Access Safe Harbor
E-Disclosure Rule Q & A

Access the presentation slides.

DOL Issues Final Electronic Disclosure Rule for Retirement Plans

by Jacob Mattinson, Alan D. Nesburg, PC and Erin Steele | Jun 16, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

Under the recently published final rule issued by the US Department of Labor, retirement plan administrators can choose to deliver required disclosures electronically by complying with the conditions of a new safe harbor. The final rule represents an opportunity for retirement plans to save costs and enhance participant access to disclosure documents.

Access the full article.

Pandemic Unemployment Aid Intensifies Debate Over Classifying Gig Workers

by Michelle S. Strowhiro | May 28, 2020 | Employment

The federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program extends relief to workers and employees who don’t have access to state benefits, but it will almost certainly put pressure on gig economy companies to start paying into state unemployment insurance funds as government resources continue to diminish due to COVID-19, attorneys say.

Michelle S. Strowhiro, partner at McDermott Will & Emery, said, “To the extent that, post-COVID, we want to maintain unemployment benefits for those traditionally not eligible, … we’d have to contemplate a way that additional funding could be accessed for the long term.”

Access the full article.

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