With Summer quickly approaching, now is a great time to prepare for the upcoming employee benefit changes. An article from Barran Liebman outlines the Top 10 Employee Benefit Plan Actions set to take place before January 1, 2014. These requirements include:
Category Archives: Legal Updates
As reported by Barran Liebman, a new law signed by Governor Kitzhaber requires that Oregon employers must provide employees who are veterans with time off on Veterans Day, as of April 4, 2013. This law is effective immediately, so prepare to process requests for time off on Veterans Day, November 11, 2013.
In recent years, the number of I-9 audits has increased drastically. In 2004, an insignificant three audits were reported, compared to an astounding 3,004 audits reported in 2012. Along with this increase is a substantial rise in fines for I-9 violations from a total of $1 million in 2009 to $13 million in 2012.
On Wednesday, March 13, 2013, Mayor Charlie Hales and the remaining members of the Portland City Council voted in favor of mandatory sick leave. Hales stated “This is justice. This is the right thing to do. It’s a good day for Portland.”
Announcement from USCIS on March 8, 2013:
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released their strategic plan for fiscal years 2012-2016, which “establishes priorities and combines the components of EEOC’s private, public, and federal sector enforcement.” The six priorities are:
- Eliminating Barriers in Recruitment and Hiring
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n an eAlert by Iris Tilly of Barran Liebman, she notes that the Obama Administration provided additional insight related to health care reform days prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Washington State passed Initiative Measure 502 which permits the production, sale, and use of recreational marijuana by individuals over the age of 21.
In a recent electronic alert from Barran Liebman, Iris K. Tilley writes that employers must be cautious when working with employees with an admitted drug addiction and who have sought treatment.
A legal update by Kirk Rafdal, staff writer for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), expands on a ruling by the Washington Supreme Court that a state law enacted on June 7, 2006 “expanding protections to gays and lesbians does not apply retroactively to the discrimination claims of a university employee.”