Showing 4 posts in Opinion.

Compliance: Employers closely watching Supreme Court’s ruling in Canning

The Court’s ruling will likely define the scope of the president’s recess appointments power for future administrations.

It’s easy to identify recess in an elementary school day: The bell rings, the kids tumble out of class, and the yard fills with playful shrieks and laughter.

Not so with Congress. The U.S. Senate’s chambers may be dark, official business on hold, the senators all home on vacation, and yet the legislative body may still be in session. More ›

Obamacare Chaos: Two Lessons for Employers

Dysfunctional websites. Low enrollment numbers. Public outrage over cancelled health policies. Mea cuplas. Presidential administrative “fix.”  Competing Congressional solutions. Finger pointing. It’s enough to make your head spin!

As an employer, you may be wondering what the recent flurry of activity surrounding the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) means for your business. This post presents the two most important lessons that employers should keep in mind following last week’s events. More ›

“Familial Status” (Whatever That Means) may Become FEHA’s Newest Protected Category Under SB 404

California employers are well aware that legislators and regulators, both on the state and federal level, have been burning the candle at both ends to generate laws, regulations, and administrative actions designed to hedge in and restrict their ability to chose and terminate their employees.

Correspondingly, it comes as no surprise to learn that the list of protective classes under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) — which prohibits employment discrimination — is about to expand once again. More ›

Who is an employee and who is an independent contractor under the employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)?

As we have written in this space in the past, whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor can have many consequences.  The classification can determine whether the principal is liable for the negligent acts of the worker, whether the worker may sue for wrongful termination or discrimination, is entitled to workers’ compensation insurance, is subject to tax treatment as an employee, and a lot more.

Now, the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) has added still more consequences.  Among other things, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, the Affordable Care Act requires firms with 50 or more “full-time equivalent workers” to offer health plans to employees who work the requisite number of hours per week, or else pay a $2,000 penalty for each uncovered worker beyond 30 employees. The Wall Street Journal reports that many businesses have been moving full-time employees to part-time positions in an effort to avoid the mandate. More ›