Articles by Girish Anand

October 23, 2013

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Employees See No 'Free Lunch' in Obamacare, Survey Finds

A National Business Group on Health (NBGH) survey released yesterday shows that more than half of the employees questioned believe health care costs will rise this year and in succeeding years under Obamacare, while almost a third of those surveyed also think the quality of health care will decline. “There is some realism and the understanding that there is no free lunch — peo...

October 23, 2013

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Snowden Out, Verizon In as HHS Seeks Fixes to HealthCare.Gov

Over the weekend, NSA secrets-leaker Edward Snowden claimed to have hacked into HeathCare.gov, the federal Obamacare Marketplace site, and said he could fix it in exchange for immunity against prosecution for stealing government files. Though Snowden was spurned, telecom giant Verizon evidently was called in to help fix things. "Our team is bringing in some of the best and brightest ...

October 22, 2013

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NLRB Tacks on 16 Days to Filing Deadlines Because of Shutdown

As previously discussed here, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) counted days closed because of the government shutdown over funding issues as "holidays," and thus it announced it would extend any filing deadlines by the length of the shutdown. It's now official: 16 days have been added to any filing deadlines (October 1 shutdown through reopening on October 17). The ...

October 22, 2013

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New Jersey Becomes 14th State to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

Ever since the Supreme Court's June decision overturning Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the full extension of benefits to same-sex couples -- such as health and retirement plans -- has been embroiled in the legal distinction between a "state of marriage" and "state of celebration." Until yesterday, there were just 13 states that officially recogni...

October 20, 2013

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Obamacare Marketplaces Total 476,000 Applicants So Far

According to documents received by the Associated Press (AP), the Obamacare Marketplaces nationwide so far have seen 476,000 individuals sign up out of a visit total of 16 million, but the government won't say how many of those applicants actually enrolled in health care insurance. An enrollment report has been promised for mid-November. The sign-ups are split almost evenly between th...

October 17, 2013

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Early Pioneer in E-Health Records, VA Faces Serious Breach Problems

The largest health care provider in the United States with 8.8 million patients, the Veterans Administration (VA) is grappling with a series of breach violations of its health records. The VA is an early pioneer in keeping health records electronically, a goal envisioned and empowered by Obamacare for all health care providers. Now, it turns out that the use of e-PHI (protected health inf...

October 15, 2013

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Will the U.S. Run Out of Money on Thursday?

As the two factions in the nation's capital spin their takes on what happens if a new debt-ceiling accord is not reached by Thursday, Oct. 17, the rarely mentioned facts behind the battle show that there's enough money in the coffers to keep running the government until the end of the month, according to CNBC and other reports. What will happen on Thursday is that the Treasury Dep...

October 15, 2013

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Ada Lovelace Day: Move Over, Steve Jobs

Now this probably has only tangential relevance to labor law compliance, but today (Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013) marks the fifth annual celebration of Ada Lovelace Day. Daughter of the poet Lord Byron (illegitimately), Ms. Lovelace penned what techies have come to recognize as the world's first computer program. In 1842! She was asked by her friend, mathematician Charles Babbage, to tr...

October 14, 2013

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New York Wage-Deduction Law Takes Effect

The New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) this past week issued final rules enabling employers to collect overpaid wages and pay advances from employees through paycheck deductions, providing certain conditions are met. The final rules implement a law that Gov. Andrew Cumo signed in September 2012. Employers had been waiting for NYDOL regulations before proceeding. The rules set up con...

October 10, 2013

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IRS Issues Guidance on Refunds for Prior Same-Sex Spouse Benefit Taxes

Following the Supreme Court decision invalidating Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a ruling that legally married same-sex couples are now entitled to the tax benefits long accorded legally married opposite-sex couples. The IRS has subsequently issued guidance granting refunds for any taxes paid prior to the June DOMA decision for a...

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About author

Girish Anand

Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

U.S. Department of Labor Officially Restores Prior Overtime Exemption Rules

On May 14th, 2026, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has officially rescinded the 2024 overtime exemption rules. Specifically, the WHD published a technical amendment to restore previous 2019 regulations that dictated overtime exemptions for...

NLRB General Counsel Takes Action to Tackle Current Case Backlog

On May 6th, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and NLRB General Counsel Crystal Stowe Carey announced the bulk transfer of thousands of labor practice cases. Specifically, this action fulfills an initiative signed by the NLRB General Counsel earlier this year. Overall, the initiative...

Privacy Agency Invites Comments from Businesses on the CCPA’s Usage of Personal Data

Recently, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a call for comments on the current state of personal data collection under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Specifically, the invitation to deliver remarks was issued on April 20th, 2026. The information provided by the...

DOL Proposes New Joint Employer Rule To Unify Standards Under Federal Labor Laws

In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule to establish a single, clear standard for determining when joint-employer status applies under three major federal laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal...

DOL Updates Enforcement Approach for Employee Benefit Plans: What Employers Should Know

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a significant change in its enforcement of employee benefit plan rules. The DOL will now focus more closely on serious violations that harm workers and retirees, meaning compliant employers may face less scrutiny under the updated approach.

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Articles by Girish Anand