Distracted Driving and Cellphones - Distracted driving is a significant cause of motor vehicle crashes that result in costly property damage and threaten safety. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety...

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Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Limits to Increase in 2025 - The IRS has released Revenue Procedure 2024-40, which includes cost-of-living adjustments for employee qualified transportation fringe benefits for...

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DOL Targets Employment-related Contract Provisions - On Oct. 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of the Solicitor (SOL) released a special enforcement report indicating seven “fine-print” employment-...

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DOT Revises Drug and Alcohol Testing Procedures Regarding Oral Fluid Testing - On Nov. 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule revising its drug and alcohol testing procedures to...

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EEOC Releases 2024 Litigation Data, Showing a Decrease in Lawsuits - On Oct. 9, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released litigation data for fiscal year (FY) 2024, which covers Oct. 1, 2023,...

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OSHA Proposes Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard - On Aug. 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the...

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OSHA Releases New Online Severe Injury Report Dashboard - On Sept. 4, 2024, OSHA released an online tool giving users the ability to search its severe injury report (SIR) database and view trends related to workplace...

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Final Rule Makes Extensive Changes to Mental Health Parity Requirements - On Sept. 9, 2024, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (Departments) released a final rule to strengthen the...

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Court Denies FMLA for Unmarried Father Before Child's Birth - The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently held in Tanner v. Stryker Corp. that an unmarried employee who traveled to be with his pregnant ex-girlfriend for...

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DOL Updates Model Employer CHIP Notice - The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), through its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), has released a new model Employer CHIP Notice with information current as of ...

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USCIS Extends Form I-9 Expiration Date - On Aug. 2, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it updated its Employment Eligibility Verification form, also known as Form I-9, to extend...

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Increased Civil Penalty Amounts for SBC, MSP, HIPAA Violations - On Aug. 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule increasing key penalties affecting group health plans. HHS...

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OSHA Proposes Heat Injury & Illness Prevention Standard - On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an unofficial version of the proposed ...

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Federal Courts Block Enforcement of Certain Section 1557 Nondiscrimination Provisions - On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a final rule under...

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OSHA Publishes Its Updated Hazard Communication Standard - On May 20, 2024, OSHA published its final rule on its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to conform to the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of...

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HHS Updates HIPAA FAQs Regarding Change Healthcare Cybersecurity Incident - On May 31, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) updated its frequently asked questions (...

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DOL Issues Gag Clause Attestation Resources for 2024 - On May 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued various resources to assist health plans and health insurance issuers in annually submitting their...

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- 3rd Circuit Rules USERRA May Require Paid Leave - On May 21, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit held that short-term military leave may be comparable to jury duty leave and bereavement leave and...

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DOJ Releases Proposed Rule to Ease Federal Restrictions on Marijuana - On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a proposed rule that would reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III...

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PCORI Fees Due July 31, 2024 - The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires health insurance issuers and self-insured plan sponsors to pay Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute fees (PCORI fees). The fees are reported...

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EEOC Announces July 9 “Failure to File” Deadline for 2023 EEO-1 Reports - On June 5, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it had entered the “Failure to File” phase for EEO-1...

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DOL Issues Guidance on AI-related Wage and Hour Risks - On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2024-1 on the use of artificial...

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OSHA Releases Its Injury Tracking Application 2023 Injury and Illness Data - On April 18, 2024, OSHA released the 2023 injury and illness data collected under the Improved Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illness...

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DOL Announces Final Overtime Rule Increasing Salary Levels for White-collar Employees - On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to amend current requirements employees in white-...

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U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Mandatory Job Transfer Can Be Discriminatory Under Title VII - On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, holding that a...

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EEOC Releases Final Rule Implementing Pregnant Workers Fairness Act - On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)...

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OSHA Announces Final Rule on Worker Walkaround Representative Designation - On March 29, 2024, OSHA announced its final rule that clarifies the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany an OSHA...

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HHS Encourages Urgent Review of HIPAA Compliance Following Health Care Cyberattack - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a letter addressing the cybersecurity incident impacting Change...

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U.S. Supreme Court Cases for Employers to Watch in 2024 - In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide several cases-it has already decided one case-that may have a significant impact on employers. It is important that...

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- FMCSA Exempts 9- and 15-passenger Vans From Operating Authority Requirements - On Feb. 26, 2024, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) amended its regulations to implement the statutory exemption...

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- - HHS Highlights HIPAA Violations and Breaches in Annual Reports - The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently shared two reports on compliance with HIPAA’s privacy, security and breach notification...

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OSHA Proposes to Issue a New Emergency Response Standard - On Feb. 5, 2024, OSHA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to issue a new safety and health standard, titled Emergency Response, to replace the...

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New TX Law Prohibits COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates - As of Feb. 6, 2024, a new Texas law prohibits all private employers in the state from adopting or enforcing any COVID-19 vaccination mandates for workers. Covered...

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House Passes Bipartisan Act to Lower Health Care Costs and Increase Price Transparency - On Dec. 11, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives passed landmark bipartisan legislation to lower the cost of health care and...

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OSHA Form 300A Posting Requirements Begin Feb. 1 - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers subject to its recordkeeping requirements to post copies of their OSHA Form 300A between Feb....

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OSHA’s Safety and Health Bulletin on Safety Helmets in the Workplace - On Nov. 22, 2023, OSHA provided a Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) on the use of safety helmets in the workplace. The SHIB provides the...

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- HHS Increases Civil Penalties for HIPAA Violations - On Oct. 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule increasing the civil monetary penalties for violations of the HIPAA ...

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- - EEOC Opens EEO-1 Reporting Portal for 2022 Workforce Data - The portal for private sector employers to submit equal employment opportunity (EEO-1) workforce data from 2022 to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...

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- - The Value of Medical Professional Liability Insurance - Medical professional liability (MPL) insurance-also known as medical malpractice insurance-provides essential coverage for health care professionals over...

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- - EEOC Issues New Guidance on Visual Disabilities and the ADA - On July 26, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidance that explains how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)...

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- New Law Requires Poster on How to Report Workplace Violence - On June 14, 2023, Texas enacted a new law, House Bill (HB) 915, that requires employers to post a notice about how employees may report workplace violence...

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Legal Update: New Form I-9 Available Aug. 1, 2023, With a Remote Verification Option for E-Verify Users - On July 21, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new version of Form I‑9, also...

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Legal Update: Final Rule Implements Ban on Surprise Medical Billing - On Aug. 19, 2022, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury (Departments) jointly released a final rule...

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