Labor & Employment Law Blog

On August 15, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1034 (“SB 1034”), which, effective January 1, 2015, repeals the 60-day waiting period limit imposed on certain health insurance plans in California.  2012 legislation, Assembly Bill 1083 (“AB 1083”), imposed a 60-day waiting period limit effective in 2014, which conflicted with the federal Affordable Care Act’s ...

On June 30, 2014, the United States Supreme Court ruled that closely held for-profit corporations may object to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) mandate to offer health insurance with access to certain contraceptive methods under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”).  In a 5-4 decision, the Court found that corporations are protected under the RFRA, as an extension of the protection of the ...

The United States Treasury Department issued much anticipated final regulations on the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) employer shared responsibility provision on Monday, February 10, 2014. The final regulations’ major impact will be to delay the employer mandate for employers between 50 to 99 employees to 2016. Employers with 100 or more employees will be required to offer health insurance to ...

On July 2, 2013, the United States Treasury Department announced that implementation and enforcement of the shared responsibility mandate("employer mandate") under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Act”) will be delayed by one year. Until today, employers were preparing to be in compliance with the Act starting on January 1, 2014. As a result of today’s announcement, employer ...

On February 27, 2013, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published interim final regulations regarding employee whistleblowing complaints under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA” a.k.a. the healthcare reform act). The regulations allow employees to file complaints with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) against their employers (and health ...