ERISA Amendments Effective Dec. 31
November 29, 2006
On Sept. 26, the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor (department) issued proposed regulations implementing amendments to ' 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA).(The proposed regulations are at 29 CFR ' 550.404c-5.) These amendments were made by ' 624 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the act) and provide relief to fiduciaries of participant-directed individual account plans where, in the absence of investment directions from a participant, the plan invests such participant's assets in a 'qualified default investment alternative.'
Health Plans and Birth Control
November 29, 2006
In last month's issue, we discussed the fact that the New York high court upheld a law requiring health plans to offer birth control. We discussed how non-believers are affected, and outlined defence to legislature. This month's article concludes the discussion.
NLRB Rulings Regarding Supervisors
November 29, 2006
Before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its recent decisions in the Kentucky River cases, union leaders and activists predicted dire consequences ' potentially stripping millions of workers, especially in the healthcare industry, of their rights to join a union. Unions, which are trying to attract more employees to their ranks, staged rallies and other events to draw attention to these cases. But the decisions did not dramatically redraw the lines for determining which workers are considered supervisors and which are not. Instead, they provided guidance that will be helpful to employers and unions alike in determining the status of workers whose classification falls into the gray area between supervisor and employee. The analysis remains highly fact-specific and appears unlikely to create the dramatic effects predicted.
What Automatic Stay?
November 28, 2006
In last month's article, we stated that among the abuses of the bankruptcy system to be remedied by BAPCPA is that of serial filing. The purpose of this two-part article is to provide a brief overview of BAPCPA's new provisions in revised ' 362 of the Bankruptcy Code, to summarize the various issues examined by the courts to date, and to provide some practical recommendations from the perspectives of debtor or credit. We continue this month with a discussion of presumption.
Litigation
October 30, 2006
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Marital Misconduct and Alimony
October 30, 2006
Decisional law in New Jersey has long expressed the view that alimony is neither a punishment for the payor nor a reward for the payee. <i>Aronson v. Aronson</i>, 245 N.J. Super. 354, 364 (App. Div.1991). Rather, it is an economic right that arises out of the marital relationship that provides a dependent spouse with a level of support and standard of living commensurate with the quality of economic life that existed during the marriage. <i>Stiffler v. Stiffler</i>, 304 N.J. Super 96, 99 (Ch. Div.1997) (quoting <i>Koelble v. Koelble</i>, 261 N.J. Super. 190, 192-93 (App. Div. 1992)).
The Human Side of Data Security
October 30, 2006
As headlines continue to report data security breaches at an alarming rate, discussion often focuses on the need for enhanced technical controls, such as two-factor authentication and encryption, to protect sensitive, personally identifiable information. The role of the company employee, both as the cause of, and the first line of defense against, security breaches is often lost in the analysis. Yet developing law is increasingly requiring administrative or procedural controls, particularly those directed at employees, as a component of a legally compliant security program.
Health Plans Must Offer Birth Control
October 30, 2006
As goes New York, so goes the nation? Last month, the New York Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of a women's health act that pressures some religious-affiliated employers to either offer their employees a prescription plan that includes contraceptive coverage, or deny their workers any drug coverage at all.
ADA Mental Illness Claims Increase in the Workplace
October 30, 2006
As defined by the ADA, a qualifying disability is 'a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual.' 42 U.S.C. 12102(2)(B), (C). The ADA regulations define disabilities broadly, including a specific reference to 'neurological systems, mental or psychological disorders.' (29 C.F.R ' 1630.2 (h).) Because the ADA only provides such general guidance, litigation continues to arise as parties try to refine the concepts presented in the Act, such as whether a mental disorder is a qualifying impairment, whether an employee with a qualifying mental illness can perform essential job functions, and how the limitation of a major life activity caused by a qualifying mental illness can be reasonably accommodated in the workplace.
