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The IRS issued Notice 2013-45 recently, the official guidance document explaining the one-year delay in the implementation of the employer pay-or-play penalties under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) health care reform.

As announced in a Treasury blog, the IRS has delayed for one year the information reporting requirements (found in sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code) that apply to insurers, self-funded plans, government agencies and large employers regarding health plan coverage.  This purpose of this delay is to allow the IRS addition time “for dialogue with stakeholders in an effort to simplify the reporting requirements”  and for employers and other reporting entities to “develop their systems for assembling and reporting the needed data.”  Since the collection of this information crucial for the IRS’ determination of an employer’s liability for pay-or-play penalties will not occur in 2014, the IRS has announced that it will not impose pay-or-play penalties for 2014.  In the Notice, the IRS states that it expects that proposed regulations on the information reporting requirements will be issued later this summer.Continue Reading IRS Guidance On Delay in Implementing Pay-or-Play Penalties of ACA Health Care Reform Law

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an interim final rule and request for comments regarding procedures for handling employee whistleblower complaints under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Section 1558. This part of the ACA added a new Section 18c to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which protects employees from retaliation for exercising certain rights under the ACA, including (1) receiving a federal tax credit or subsidy to purchase insurance through the employer or a future health insurance exchange, (2) reporting a violation of consumer protection rules under the ACA (which, for instance, prohibit denial of health coverage based on preexisting conditions and lifetime limits on coverage), and (3) assisting or participating in a proceeding under Section 1558.

The interim final rule states the time frames and procedures for bringing a whistleblower complaint under Section 18c and covers the investigation, hearing, and appeals processes. An employee has 180 days from the date of the alleged retaliation to bring a whistleblower complaint to the Secretary of Labor. Where a violation is found, remedies can include reinstatement, compensatory damages, back pay, and reasonable costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees). If the employee brought the complaint in bad faith, an employer may recover up to $1,000 in reasonable attorneys’ fees.Continue Reading OSHA Issues Interim Final Rules on Whistleblower Protection Provisions Under ACA

Although it’s almost been four years since it was issued in January 2009, Executive Order 13495, known as “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts” (74 Fed. Reg. 6103) has not had much impact upon government contracting employers. That is about to change as the final rule and regulations that will make Executive Order 13495 enforceable go into effective January 18, 2013.  

What Executive Order 13496 Says

Executive Order 13495 requires most federal service contractors (including subcontractors)under a contract that succeeds a contract for performance of the same or similar services at the same location to offer the predecessor contractor’s employees a right of first refusal of employment under the contract for those positions for which they qualify. The requirement imposed by the Executive Order does not require a successor contractor to hire all of its predecessor’s employees. Successor contractors may still reduce the size of the workforce and give first preference to certain members of its own workforce (those employees that have worked for the successor contractor for at least three months and face layoff if they are not employed on the new contract). Certain contracts are exempt from this hiring obligation and waivers may be granted by senior procurement executives in limited circumstances.Continue Reading New Hiring Obligations for Federal Service Contractors Effective January 18, 2013

The NLRB’s new posting rule, which would apply to virtually all private sector employers, was scheduled to go in effect on April 30, 2012.  Yesterday, we blogged about a South Carolina federal trial court decision striking down the posting rule.  More good news for employers arrived today, as the United States Court of Appeals for …

As previously blogged here, a federal court located in the District of Columbia upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) rule requiring nearly all private sector employers, whether unionized or not, to post a notice to their employees about certain employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act.  While upholding the rule, that federal …

Update: A federal trial court in the District of Columbia has upheld the notice posting requirement in the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) recently issued final rule requiring nearly all private sector employers, whether unionized or not, to post a notice to their employees about certain employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act. To …

For many new moms returning to work after the birth of a child, pumping breast-milk is considered to be a necessary evil.  Necessary because pumping ensures that these mothers’ babies can continue to experience the many benefits of breast-milk, and helps the mothers to maintain their milk supplies, relieves painful engorgement, and prevents potentially serious …