On Halloween, the IRS treated employers and health flexible spending account participants to a change in the longstanding “use it or lose it” rule. Beginning immediately, employers may amend their cafeteria plans to allow participants to carry over up to $500 of unused FSA funds at the end of the plan year so that the carryover can be used to reimburse qualified medical expenses incurred in the following plan year. In addition, the amount carried over will not count against the permitted $2,500 salary reduction limit applicable to the next plan year. According to the guidance, however, a plan cannot …
A True “Black Swan”: How unpaid internships were good, but are now bad
I love when a movie comes out that makes me smarter, even without watching it. A good example is The Black Swan. I had never heard of such a thing and had no idea what it symbolized before Fox bombed the airwaves with commercials featuring dark, elegant-looking shots of Natalie Portman in ominous poses. Intrigued, I looked up the metaphorical use of a black swan in literature and film. I learned that a black swan represents an event that surprises the observer, has a major effect on the observer and others, which is usually negative, but is often inappropriately rationalized …
Record Payout for Racial Discrimination by Merrill Lynch
A recent case demonstrates how dangerous it is when an employer does not monitor the workplace to ensure equal opportunity. In what could be a record payment to settle an American class action suit for racial discrimination, Merrill Lynch agreed in August to pay $160 million to black brokers and trainees who worked at the firm since 2001. The lead plaintiff in the case, 68-year-old George McReynolds, has worked at the firm since 1983 and remained at the firm during the pendency of the suit. An estimated 1,200 people may have a claim in the settlement. Allegations made during the …
Social Media and Employee Rights
The rise of social media in the last several years has led to a pattern of people pouring out every detail of their personal lives – from the mundane to the potentially damaging – for the world to see. Understandably, this has led to a variety of clashes with employers over issues ranging from social media use at work, to posting of disparaging comments, to workers’ compensation fraud. A recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) should give employers throughout the United States a moment of pause. While employees who disparage their employers online might expect that this …
Employing Minors in Ohio — What You Need to Know
There was a time when child labor was a major problem in the United States. While that era has largely passed, employers who hire children under the age of 18 are still subject to a number of restrictions. It can be easy for businesses that only periodically employ minors to overlook these statutory requirements, leading to trouble down the road. Ultimately, Ohio’s minor employment laws are not overly burdensome so long as employers are aware that the laws exist and learn about their responsibilities. The Ohio Minor Labor Law considers any person under the age of 18 who has not …