The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice (“the Departments”) recently issued guidance in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter to public elementary and secondary schools regarding schools’ legal obligations to administer student discipline on a nondiscriminatory basis. This guidance...
Now that the New Year has begun, it may be a good time to review the composition of your bargaining units to ascertain whether there are any employees who should not be in a union due to their “managerial” and/or “confidential” status. We are...
KEEPING YOU INFORMED… On January 25, 2013, the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to clarify and communicate schools’ responsibilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) regarding the provision of extracurricular athletics to...
The Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) recently issued a decision holding that a work rule permitting employees to listen to personal electronic devices and radios at their work stations constituted a term and condition of employment and so could not be unilaterally changed by their...
KEEPING YOU INFORMED… Governor Cuomo recently signed a bill amending General Municipal Law Section 103 to clarify the bidding requirements for school districts and municipalities that wish to purchase devices, materials, equipment and supplies, and their related maintenance services through contracts awarded by other federal, state,...
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued Notice 2013-71 (“the Notice”) which modifies the “use-or-lose” rule for health flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”) established pursuant to Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code (“the Code”). The “use-or-lose” rule provides that any monies remaining in an FSA...
As we have previously advised you, the Affordable Care Act ("the ACA") imposes a "pay or play mandate on employers with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees. In general, this provision requires these employers to provide affordable health insurance to at least 95%...
Governor Cuomo recently signed a bill amending the Local Finance Law to provide municipalities (including fire districts) and school districts with additional flexibility to borrow money in order to manage Superstorm Sandy relief expenses. This client memorandum discusses the new law, which became effective...
As we have previously advised you, the Affordable Care Act (“the ACA”) imposes a “pay or play” mandate on employers with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees. In general, this provision requires these employers to provide affordable health insurance to at least...
Section 472.12 of the Regulations of the Industrial Commissioner was recently repealed and replaced with a new version. This section governs employer responses to requests from the New York Department of Labor (“DOL”) for employee information in connection with a pending unemployment insurance application....
