With the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) announcement that it would abandon current efforts to collect the controversial Component 2 pay data, California has taken the first step in filling the void left behind by seeking to enact a state law requirement to collect employee compensation.
Continue reading “California Leads the Way for Pay Data Collection and Reporting”
Late in the afternoon of August 28, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-65 (the Notice) permitting the deferral of employers’ obligation to withhold and deposit with the IRS the employee portion of certain social security (and related railroad retirement) taxes imposed under Sections 3101(a) and 3201(a) (FICA Withholding Taxes) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). The Notice follows President Trump’s August 8, 2020, executive memorandum (the Memo) directing the IRS to issue such guidance, and the deferral period begins on September 1. While the Notice specifies how FICA Withholding Tax deferral is to be effected and how deferred amounts are to be collected, a number of significant questions remain unanswered.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact businesses with no clear end in sight. While the prospect of a functioning vaccine may have a while to go, a spike in Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act litigation may be on the horizon. Furloughs and workforce reductions have been prevalent since mid-March, leaving millions of employees without jobs or on extended leaves while they wait (and hope) to be recalled to work. While only about a dozen WARN Act lawsuits have been filed to date, as layoffs extend beyond six months, new workforce reductions occur, and more plaintiffs’ attorneys shift their attention to WARN Act claims, the remainder of 2020 may become a hurricane season of sorts as WARN Act litigation could flood the courts. And as the days and weeks go by, an employer’s ability to successfully assert the “unforeseeable business circumstances” defense to providing less than 60 days’ notice of a “mass layoff” or “plant closing” has diminished and will only become more challenging for employers to assert.
Continue reading “As Fall Approaches, WARN Act Lawsuits Likely to Heat Up”
On August 24, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) published guidance addressing employer obligations to track employee hours while teleworking. The DOL emphasized that though the guidance is being issued in part due to the increase in teleworking arrangements with COVID-19, it applies to all telework or remote work arrangements, not only those caused by the pandemic.
Continue reading “Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division Provides Work From Home Guidance”
Business immigration in the United States continues the roller coaster ride of the last six months. With the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. immigration has been subjected to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office and consulate closures, travel bans, a three-month suspension of premium processing, and rumors of USCIS furloughs. This short article will address some of the most recent updates.
On 13 July, the U.K. government released further details about the U.K.’s future immigration system, which will apply to EU and non-EU nationals from January 2021. Under normal circumstances, such a significant change would be top of mind for companies operating in the U.K., but it has slipped off the business world’s radar as leaders grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic challenges.
But the immigration system in the U.K is going to change, regardless of how prepared the business world is for the new system. The U.K. government has made clear that it is still committed to roll out this new system first thing next year.
Continue reading “U.K. Government Releases Details on Post-Brexit Immigration System”