OSHA’s new electronic reporting rule took effect on January 1, 2017. It requires certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness data which they are required to record on their onsite OSHA injury and illness forms. Under the final rule published in May 2016, employers with 250 or more employees and employers with between 20-249… Read more
On May 15, 2018, Governor Hogan signed into law the “Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018” (the “Act”). The Act will go into effect on October 1, 2018, and it contains two requirements for Maryland employers. First, regardless of size, Maryland employers will be prohibited from including in an employment agreement, contract,… Read more
Summer is almost here, which means that students are trading in their flip flops and sunglasses for suits and padfolios as they prepare to start their summer internships. It is important that the for-profit companies, gearing up to welcome these eager students into their workplace for the summer, are informed of and comply with the… Read more
On Monday, May 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, upheld the enforceability of class action waivers in arbitration agreements between employers and their employees. Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion for the 5-4 majority holding that courts are required under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) to enforce arbitration agreements providing… Read more
WHOIS, a protocol used to query databases for domain name ownership information, will likely be widely unavailable while the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) works on adopting an interim model that will allow domain name registrars to comply with privacy obligations while still preserving as much WHOIS data as possible. The General… Read more
New York State On April 12, 2018, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York State Legislature’s anti-sexual harassment legislation. The bill includes a number of requirements impacting private employers, including the implementation of mandatory sexual harassment training and policies. Specifically, effective immediately, the law expands the anti-sexual harassment protections to certain… Read more
Last Thursday, New York’s highest Court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by actress Lindsay Lohan accusing Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., the maker of the popular video game Grand Theft Auto V (“GTA”), of violating her right to privacy. This is the second appeal that Lohan has lost against Take-Two. Lohan alleged that Take-Two… Read more
On March 5, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued a decision concerning the way that certain bonus pay affects the calculation of an employee’s regular rate under California Labor Code § 510 for purposes of determining overtime. Because this involves employee wages, claims that can reach back as far as four years, the impact on… Read more
Based on the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has once again updated the Cost-of-Living Adjustments for 2018. In recently issued guidance, the IRS has adjusted the limits on health savings accounts (HSAs). For calendar year 2018, while the annual limitation for an individual with self-only… Read more
On January 25, 2018, the U.S. EPA reversed its longstanding Clean Air Act “once in, always in” policy, opening the door for certain “major” sources of hazardous air pollution to finally downgrade to “area” sources. “Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act,” William L. Wehrun, Assistance Administrator,… Read more