Top 10 International Employment Law Issues
January 31, 2015
This article compiles and describes, with varying degrees of specificity, what appear, to this author, to be the top 10 global employment law issues facing employers in 2015. They are listed in reverse order.
Secured Lender Primes Earlier Federal Tax Lien
January 31, 2015
The Fourth Circuit, recently held in a split decision that a lender's unrecorded lien primed an earlier unrecorded federal tax lien on a Chapter 11 debtor's real property. The case reassures secured lenders unaware of a borrower's preexisting tax lien, however, as it protects them against the government's nondisclosure.
Can the EEOC Be Trusted to Police Its Own Compliance?
January 31, 2015
The EEOC has an express statutory duty to attempt to secure, in good faith, a conciliation agreement with an employer as a precondition to filing a lawsuit. In some cases, however, the EEOC has approached conciliation in a "take-it-or-leave-it" manner, making unreasonable demands while threatening to file suit and issue a press release, which can inflict significant reputational harm on the employer.
Special Needs Families in Divorce
January 31, 2015
When parents of special needs children experience a divorce, family law attorneys are in a unique position: Not only can they handle the divorce proceedings, but they can also steer their clients toward a plan for maintaining or establishing valuable Medicaid benefits.
QDRO or Buyout?
January 31, 2015
These days, attorneys drafting QDROs must contend with a new type of retirement plan called a "cash balance pension plan" ' a hybrid that is not really the fish of a traditional defined benefit plan, or the fowl of a defined contribution plan.
Federal Contractors
December 31, 2014
With a recent string of Executive Orders signed by President Barack Obama and new rules published by the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding employment practices of federal government contractors and subcontractors, it may seem overwhelming to keep track of all the new requirements. This article identifies and summarizes these important developments over the course of the last year, and serves as a checklist for maintaining compliance.
Business As Usual Despite Republican Control of Congress?
December 31, 2014
The midterm elections returned the Republicans to control of the Senate after an eight-year hiatus. Not surprisingly, the Republicans were elected on platforms opposing President Obama's policies. The surprise may be that the Democratic agenda may continue to prevail.
Employers and Ebola
December 31, 2014
While relatively few U.S. or global businesses are directly affected by the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, or by the handful of cases in the U.S., organizations of all sizes are well-advised to do some contingency planning should the disease spread to other regions of the globe, including in the U.S.
The NLRB <i>McDonald's</i> Ruling and Franchisors
November 30, 2014
The NLRB general counsel's July 29, 2014, ruling that McDonald's is a joint employer of those who work for its roughly 14,000 franchised restaurants in the United States continues to send ripples through both the legal and business worlds.
