Publications

 
Clear Filters
20 July 2022

Michigan Court of Claims Voids Current Minimum Wage and Paid Medical Leave Laws, Reinstating Original Versions from 2018

On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, the Michigan Court of Claims determined that the Michigan Legislature violated the Michigan Constitution when it adopted and then amended two ballot petition initiatives in 2018. Importantly, this ruling voids two laws—the current minimum wage law (called the Improved Workforce Opportunity Act) and the current Paid Medical Leave Act—and reinstates […]

18 July 2022

Protecting Our Most Vulnerable: The Unsettling Rise in Claims of Undue Influence

Americans are aging.  According to the United States Census Bureau, by 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65.  In 1946, three million, four hundred thousand babies were born.  This was a twenty percent rise from 1945.  The year 1946 marked the beginning of the “baby boom.”  The “baby boomer” generation […]

12 July 2022

Group Health Plan (and Related Benefit) Considerations in Light of the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Dobbs

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overruled its previous decisions in both Roe and Casey and determined that the United States Constitution’s privacy clause does not guarantee a right to an abortion prior to the date of viability. Instead, the regulation of abortion will be left to the states. There is no question that the method in which different states attempt to regulate abortion will vary widely. Some states currently have laws in effect that not only ban all abortions but have language broad enough to potentially impact other reproductive health services. Other states have codified the right to abortion. Dobbs directly impacts whether and how employers can provide health care coverage not just for abortion but potentially for other reproductive health care services. Employers that sponsor group health plans need to individually determine how Dobbs impacts current benefits and determine what changes are necessary to both provide the coverage the employer desires and avoid criminal and civil penalties.

11 July 2022

Michigan Rolls Back Its COVID-19 Employment Rights Act

On Monday, July 11, 2022, Governor Whitmer signed into law a package of bills that amend and repeal three of Michigan’s COVID-era laws, including an amendment and repeal of Michigan’s COVID-19 Employment Rights Act. The COVID-19 Employment Rights Act, also known as Public Act 238 of 2020, prohibited employees from reporting to work after (1) […]

29 June 2022

Florida’s Homestead Rules—The Best Benefit under the Sun (Part 1)

Last month, I detailed steps you can take to establish residency in Florida (found here).  In the next few installments of my Snowbird Series, I will review Florida’s homestead laws so you can see how they might apply to your situation.  Homestead is one of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of Florida law. The first […]

29 June 2022

Supreme Court Opens Door to Limiting Reimbursement Rates for Outpatient Dialysis Treatment

On June 21, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court published a decision in Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. DaVita Inc, which may attract the attention of plan sponsors of self-funded group health plans wishing to limit reimbursement rates for outpatient kidney dialysis treatment.  Marietta involved a challenge by DaVita, one of the nation’s […]

28 June 2022

Sixth Circuit Strikes Blow for Sponsors of 401(k) Plans in Fiduciary Litigation

On June 21, 2022 the Sixth Circuit released a powerful opinion in defense of fiduciaries managing employees’ investment options in 401(k) plans, stating that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) “does not give the federal courts a broad license to second-guess the investment decisions of retirement plans.”  The unanimous decision—Smith v. CommonSpirit Health—is the […]