Will Health Savings Accounts Solve the Health Care Crisis?
November 29, 2005
Perhaps the fastest growing new form of employee benefit arrangements, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are an alternative hybrid structure of health coverage. The HSA is a two part arrangement in which participants belong to a health care plan with a high annual deductible that provides insurance coverage for expensive health care procedures and preventative care. The objective of the HSA is to allow eligible individuals who participate in High Deductible Health Plans to contribute to a tax-advantaged savings account on an annual basis an amount equal to their annual deductible, that may be carried over from year to year to cover qualified medical expenses. Contributions to an HSA from employers or individuals are generally tax deductible. In the same way, distributions from an HSA are not included in ordinary income if the amounts are used for reasonable medical expenses. Contributions on behalf of an employee are immediately vested and the HSA program is designed to be portable.
Landmark Same-Sex Union Case Overturned By New York Appellate Court
November 29, 2005
The courts of New York dealt a blow to the cause of same-sex partners' family rights in October when the Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed the Nassau County Supreme Court's denial of a motion to dismiss a wrongful death suit brought against a hospital by the surviving member of a couple legally joined in a Vermont civil union ceremony.
WA Supreme Court Recognizes Non-Biological Lesbian Mother
November 29, 2005
The Washington Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 3, 2005 that a lesbian co-parent who can establish that she is a de facto parent will have all the same rights and responsibilities of other parents, including the right to seek custody or visitation. The court's ruling was 7-2.
News Briefs
November 29, 2005
News of importance to you and your practice.
What Would Samuel Alito's Confirmation Mean for Same-Sex Couples?
November 29, 2005
Senate hearings on the nomination of Samuel A. Alito, Jr., for the U.S. Supreme Court will not begin until Jan. 9, 2006, and liberal advocates are using the intervening time to engage in an uphill fight to challenge his confirmation. In particular, Alito's notions of privacy rights and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution have been cited by critics in the context of issues such as abortion and civil rights, respectively. Yet these same principles are the critical legal avenues that the LGBT community has utilized to expand rights over the past 20 years, suggesting that Alito's presence on the Court might shift the balance on LGBT rights issues in the future.
Katrina and the New Insolvency Law
November 28, 2005
Though Hurricane Katrina may flood bankruptcy courts with new filings from its victims, experts differ over whether the new Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which took effect in October, will blow away small businesses in the Gulf Coast region.
Employee Relief in the Aftermath of Katrina
November 28, 2005
Both established and recently enacted laws may offer aid and protection to employees affected by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Employees affected by natural disasters such as Katrina may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if they suffer from a disability as the result of the event, or may be eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA" if they or a family member have suffered a serious health condition as the result of the storm. Additionally, affected employees may be eligible for relief under measures enacted as a direct response to the event, such as the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (KETRA), or may seek relief from previously established assistance programs, such as unemployment insurance or the federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance program.
In the Wake of the Storm
November 28, 2005
As everyone knows, Hurricane Katrina devastated the residents and businesses of the Gulf Coast, causing massive damage and loss in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and elsewhere. The sheer expenditure of time and resources in rebuilding the region will no doubt be enormous. In recognition of the magnitude of the disaster and the likelihood of a long and costly recovery, the federal government has taken both legislative and regulatory action in response. Many of these government actions have direct impact on employment practices.
Planning for Disaster
November 28, 2005
Devastating meteorological events such as Hurricane Katrina, or the major earthquake long prophesied for the West Coast -- only reinforce that every employer should develop and be prepared to implement a disaster plan. The specifics of plans will be as varied as employers' businesses, as they should be tailored to the products or services the company provides, its location, the number of employees it has, and the type of business disruption the company may be likely to face. Whatever its specific contours, however, the cornerstone of any emergency management plan is ensuring that a business can continue to run, even when its usual mode of doing business is effectively shut down. Far from being a knee-jerk responses to sensational events, such preparations should be considered just another form of business contingency planning.
Enlarging Scope of Disaster Plans
November 28, 2005
Considering how much damage can result from something as innocuous as a faulty sprinkler system, it may be understandable that many law firm disaster planners previously gave their first attention to common threats, and then never got around to considering large-scale disasters. Firm planners could pat themselves on the back if they maintained proper fire safeguards, kept the firm properly insured, arranged for regular backups of key data files, and the like.
