legs and regs advisor august2013 north america

8/11/2019 Legs and Regs Advisor August2013 North America

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Neil Alexander

Littler Mendelson

Shareholder and co-Chair,

Littler ContingentWorkforce

Practice Group

Phoenix, AZ

602.474.3612

Suellen Oswald

Littler Mendelson


Littler ContingentWorkforce

Practice Group

Cleveland, OH

216.623.6099

George Reardon

Littler Mendelson

Special Counsel

Houston, TX

713.951.9400

Corinn Jackson

Littler Mendelson

KnowledgeManagement Counsel

Los Angeles, CA

310.772.7268

Jon Osborne

Staffing IndustryAnalysts

VP of Research

Mountain View, CA

650.390.6182

Bryan Pea

Staffing IndustryAnalysts

VP of ContingentWorkforce Strategies &Research

Mountain View, CA

650.390.6188

For More Information Contact:


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Neil Alexander

Littler Mendelson


Littler Contingent WorkforcePractice Group

Phoenix, AZ

602.474.3612

Suellen Oswald

Littler Mendelson


Littler Contingent WorkforcePractice Group

Cleveland, OH

216.623.6099

George Reardon

Littler Mendelson

Special Counsel

Houston, TX713.951.9400

Corinn Jackson

Littler Mendelson

Knowledge Management

CounselLos Angeles, CA

310.772.7268

Jon Osborne

Staffing Industry Analysts

VP of Research

Mountain View, CA650-390-6182

Bryan Pea

Staffing Industry Analysts

VP of Contingent Workforce

Strategies & ResearchMountain View, CA

650.390.6188

For Information Contact:

This Months Items:

Summary

The Obama administration announced a delay in the employer pay-or-play mandate and accompanying insurer reporting requirements by oneyear. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional the section of the Defense of Marriage Act that required federal laws to ignore same-sex

marriages legally entered into under applicable state laws; the ruling will affect the design and implementation of employer benefit plans. Aplaintiff filed a putative collective action against a law firm and its staffing company as joint employers, alleging the defendants willfully violated

the Fair Labor Standards Act when they failed to pay overtime to a lawyer hired to perform document review. A regional director for the NationalLabor Relations Board decided temps provided by a staffing agency for a short-term project were employees of the staffing firm and constituted aunit appropriate for collective bargaining. A Maryland federal district court dismissed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions Title VII

suit against a company over alleged discriminatory background checks.

Date and Year

1. Affordable Care Acts employer mandate delayed one year2. US Supreme Court overturns Defense of Marriage Act3. Suit alleges law firm and staffing agency failed to pay overtime to temps4. National Labor Relations Board orders temp staffing agency election5. Court tosses Title VII disparate impact suit over alleged discriminatory background checks

August 2013


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This monthly update is provided solely for informational purposes, and should not be considered legal advice. It is always recommended to seek qualified legal counsel before taking action.

1. Affordable Care Acts employer mandate delayed one year

Jurisdiction:Federal

Description:On July 2, 2013, the Obama administration announced a one-year delay in the employer pay-or-play mandate and accompanying insurerreporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act. According to the Treasury Department notice, this delay is intended to provide the agencyadditional time to simplify the reporting requirements and provide time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems while employers aremoving toward making health coverage affordable and accessible for their employees. The announcement came as many employers had beenpreparing for the 2014 requirement that those with 50 or more full-time employees and full-time equivalent employees either offer healthcoverage that meets certain standards to full-time employees or pay a penalty. According to the statement from Mark Mazur, Assistant Secretaryfor Tax Policy at the Treasury Department, During this 2014 transition period, we strongly encourage employers to maintain or expand healthcoverage. The administration has not announced that the transition relief will impact other provisions of the ACA, including access byemployees to premium tax credits for use in the future health insurance exchanges.

On July 9, 2013, the IRS issued additional guidance on this grace period, available here.

Item Type:Regulatory Development

For Contingent Workforce Buyers

Implications:

The delay in implementation of a key component of the healthcare reform law, calls intoquestion whether certain other provisions of the law scheduled to begin in 2014, namelythe new healthcare exchanges, will meet the deadline. The announcement providesregulators with additional time to try to simplify the burdens on employers created by themandate.

Suggested Actions:

Some staffing contracts now in force may still be in force when the mandate andassociated penalties begin in 2015. Buyers should review agreements to determine

whether, and how, they address interim increases in governmental-imposed costs. If thecontracts are not clear, buyers should discuss with suppliers who will bear these costs.The delay will afford buyers additional time to carefully prepare staffing contracts enteredinto between now and 2015 in order to address governmentally imposed costs withsuppliers.

For Staffing Firms

Implications:

See Implications for Contingent Workforce Buyers

Suggested Actions:

See Suggested Actions for Contingent WorkforceBuyers


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legs and regs advisor august2013 north america

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