Articles by Girish Anand

June 28, 2013

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HHS Issues Final Rule on Religious Organizations' Exemption from Obamacare Mandate

Today, the Obama administration issued final rules that balance the goal of providing women with coverage for recommended preventive care – including contraceptive services prescribed by a health care provider with no cost-sharing – with the goal of respecting the concerns of non-profit religious organizations that object to contraceptive coverage, according to a press r...

June 27, 2013

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CMS Issues Final Rule on Who Can Opt Out of Obamacare

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) yesterday published a final rule on who qualifies to opt out of the so-called individual mandate to buy health insurance or pay a fine under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The biggest category is simply those who cannot afford it and who would thus qualify for government assistance. In addition, certain groups also qualify under the exe...

June 25, 2013

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Nation Celebrates 75th Anniversary of the FLSA

On this day 75 years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the landmark Wagner Act, which has survived the ages as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). To this day, the FLSA regulates the minimum wage, overtime page, child labor and many other wage-and-hour issues that, prior to the 1938 statute's enactment, were completely unregulated at the national level (though prog...

June 25, 2013

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SCOTUS Makes Discrimination, Retaliation Lawsuits a Bit Tougher

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued two rulings that led Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to beg Congress to overturn with written legislation. In one case, a 5-4 decision ruled that retaliation claims must be won on a "but-for" basis, and in another case, the same 5-4 majority established that discrimination must originate from a supervisor with hiring and firing authority to ...

June 24, 2013

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Nevada Bans Employer Social Media Password Access

Nevada has become the 11th state to ban employers from seeking access to applicants' and employees' social media passwords with legislation that goes into effect this coming Oct. 1. The law creates exceptions when employers view applicants' or employees' publicly viewable content and when a coworker voluntarily submits social media content (the snitch exemption?). The ...

June 24, 2013

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Oregon Law Adds Discrimination Protection for Interns

Oregon has passed legislation that extends discrimination protection to unpaid interns, putting them on the same legal page as regular employees but without creating an employment relationship. Under the new law, unpaid interns are protected from discrimination and retaliation on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, age (protected c...

June 24, 2013

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Supreme Court Finally Agrees to Hear White House Recess Appointments Appeal

The Supreme Court today agreed to take up the issue of whether appointments made by President Obama on Jan. 4, 2012, to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were legally done under the Constitution's recess-appointment clause. Earlier this year, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the appointments were unconstitutional because they were made ...

June 24, 2013

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HHS Redesigns, Relaunches Consumer, Small Business Health Care Site

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today kicked off its Health Insurance Marketplace education effort with a new, consumer-focused HealthCare.gov website and a 24-hours-a-day consumer call center to help Americans prepare for open enrollment and ultimately sign up for private health insurance. The new tools will help Americans understand their choices and select the cover...

June 23, 2013

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EEOC Issues Final Rule on Freedom of Information Act

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a Final Rule revising certain provisions of its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations. EEOC's revised FOIA regulations, 29 CFR Part 1610 ("Availability of Records"), incorporate provisions of the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in Our National Government Act of 2007 (OPEN Government Act), and the Electroni...

June 22, 2013

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Wage and Hour Division Partners with Subway Restaurants

Subway

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and the franchisor of the world’s largest restaurant chain are collaborating to increase compliance with federal labor laws at SUBWAY locations nationwide. Although these restaurants are independently owned and operated, the franchisor is providing a forum and resources to assist the division in educating franchisees, WHD...

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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