LJN Newsletters

Legislatures and courts alike in several jurisdictions have extended existing anti-discrimination laws to transgender people, and some employers have followed suit with changes to their non-discrimination policies. Employers are thus advised not only to familiarize themselves with the current legal landscape for transgender rights, but also to consider the practical implications of such laws on their own efforts to provide an inclusive and non-discriminatory workplace environment for transgender employees. This two-part article will explore the legal landscape and its implications.

The first part of this article discussed the current state of the law with regard to the legal standing of unions to represent and litigate on behalf of retirees. The conclusion herein addresses cases involving the presumption of vesting, and offers tips for managing changes in retirement plans and negotiating future plans.

The IRS recently issued Notice 2007-78, which provides additional guidance and limited transition relief on Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. There are still actions required by the end of 2007.

There have been numerous cases involving various challenges to employer 'tip-pooling' policies, particularly in Massachusetts and California, with wait staff and other restaurant employees claiming that such policies violate state wage and hour laws. This article describes this recent line of cases, which are of particular interest to employers and employees in the restaurant or hospitality industries, but which have extended to other industries as well. The article also suggests guidelines for employers in the restaurant and hospitality industries to adopt so that their tip-pooling policies do not run afoul of state wage and hour laws.

As readers are well-aware, Sarbanes-Oxley, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ have established standards for director independence. These are not the only director independence standards that can affect a corporation and its board. Director independence is also significant under Delaware law. Although similar, the standards for director independence under Sarbanes-Oxley ('SOX'), stock exchange rules and Delaware law differ. A director who is independent under SOX may not be independent under stock exchange rules or Delaware law and vice versa.

Your company decides to establish a new employee benefit plan. As in-house counsel, you, naturally, are asked to get involved. The regulatory, compliance and tax issues will unquestionably be daunting. Qualified or non-qualified? Safe harbor? Contributory? Top-heavy? Defined benefit or defined contribution? All of these questions, and more, must be answered before you can finalize your company's plan. But there's more ...

Faced with ever-increasing litigation costs, in-house lawyers are searching for effective and legally defensible means of limiting the costs of electronic discovery. Legal teams can effectively incorporate search techniques into their best practices by considering critical issues before they review a single page. Doing so will only eliminate a major nightmare: excessive costs associated with over-collection and technical challenges that will require teams of project specialists to resolve.

Even sophisticated companies expose themselves needlessly to contract disputes. The author says that from representing them in litigation, that might have been avoided or shortened if only they had inserted one of his "top ten prophylactics" for avoiding "contractually transmitted disease.