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30 March 2023

March 31 Air Ambulance Reporting Deadline Delayed

In mid-March 2023, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (collectively, the “Departments”) announced that group health plans will not be required to report certain information regarding air ambulance reporting for the 2022 calendar year on March 31, 2023. Specifically, the Departments announced that the reporting deadline is delayed until final regulations are issued. This announcement will likely be welcome news to group health plan sponsors, which may still be gathering data to comply with the reporting requirement.

24 March 2023

Michigan Repeals Right to Work and Reinstates More Aggressive Prevailing Wage Law

Today Governor Whitmer signed legislation repealing Michigan’s 2012 “Right to Work” law. As a result, private sector employers and unions in the state will be permitted to negotiate collective bargaining agreements with union security clauses that require workers to pay union dues as a condition of employment. The new law will go into effect in April 2024.

17 March 2023

Michigan Expands LGBTQ Protections In Civil Rights Law

On March 16, 2023, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Senate Bill 4, which amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to include “sexual orientation” and “gender expression” as protected categories.

07 March 2023

New MPEP Released

The USPTO just announced a new version of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). The last release was in 2020. The MPEP is binding on the more than 8,000 patent examiners at the USPTO so all US patent practitioners need to be familiar with it.

03 March 2023

Biden Administration Proposes New Rules to Expand Access to Contraceptive Coverage

On January 30, 2023, the U.S. Departments of Health & Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the Departments) issued proposed rules to expand access to no cost contraceptive services. Specifically, the Departments proposed removing the moral exemption to providing contraceptive coverage under an employer’s group health plan.

01 March 2023

IRS Effectively Eliminates Paper Filing For Forms 1095-C

Applicable Large Employers (ALEs)—which generally include employers with an average of at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees—are intimately familiar with the Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C filing requirements.  And while we suspect that most ALEs electronically file their Forms 1095-C, ALEs that were required to file less than 250 Forms 1095-C were permitted to file those forms with the IRS on paper.  The IRS issued a final rule on February 23, 2023 that will effectively eliminate the paper filing option for 2023 Forms 1095-C that must be filed during the first quarter of calendar year 2024.

27 February 2023

Reminder: H-1B Visa Registration to Begin March 1

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the initial registration period for fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap-subject petitions. Registration opens at 12:00 p.m. EST on March 1, 2023 and runs through 12:00 p.m. EDT on March 17, 2023. During this period, employers can complete and submit their registrations using the electronic H-1B registration system.

24 February 2023

NLRB Decision Targets Lawfulness of Important Severance Agreement Terms

Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58, holding that employers violate federal labor law when they offer severance agreements with terms, such as broad confidentiality or non-disparagement terms, which have a reasonable tendency to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their statutory rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

22 February 2023

Illinois Opens Door to Huge Employer Damages Under Biometric Information Law

Since its 2008 enactment, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or “BIPA,” has required employers with employees in Illinois to carefully handle employee biometric information.  BIPA violations create significant liability for the unwary or unsavory employer.  To top it off, last week, an Illinois Supreme Court decision exponentially expanded the potential damages that Illinois employers may face.  In some cases, the money damages could make your jaw drop.