Articles by Girish Anand

April 16, 2018

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EBSA Increases Retirement Fund Recovery on Fewer Cases

The Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) in 2017 upped its recovery of missing employee retirement contributions (including fines) to $1.1 billion from $777.5 the year before. At the same time, due in great part to automation, the ERISA-enforcement wing of the Department of Labor (DOL) was able to reach the higher recovery figure on fewer closed cases: 1,707 in 2017 compared to 2...

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New Jersey Votes to Resurrect the Obamacare Individual Mandate

April 16, 2018

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The New Jersey legislature has sent a bill to Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, that would reinstate the expiring individual health insurance mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare). New Jersey Statehouse[/caption] Under terms of the bill -- New Jersey Health Insurance Market Preservation Act -- those who lack health...

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DOL's Acosta Argues for More Funding for His Department Because 'Laws Matter'

April 15, 2018

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During a hearing before a Senate subcommittee, Secretary Alexander Acosta argued for increased funding for the Department of Labor because, among other things, "laws matter" and the department needs additional inspectors, especially for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Labor Secretary Acosta I...

WHD Opinion Letters Address FLSA and Other Issues

April 12, 2018

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The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) announced today that it has issued three new opinion letters. The WHD Opinon Letter web page “The Department of Labor has committed to protect employees, enforce the law, and ensure employers have the tools for compliance,” said Secretary of Labor Alex...

Ring Appointment Restores NLRB Majority

April 11, 2018

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BREAKING NEWS: The White House on Thursday, April 12, announced John Ring would become chair of the NLRB, and Marvin Kaplan would relinquish the post and remain as a member. The Senate's confirmation of John Ring today to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) restores Republicans to a 3-2 majority. The board had been deadlocked 2-2 since the expiration of the term of Philip Miscimarra in...

USCIS Launches E-Verify Website for Employers, Employees and General Public

April 10, 2018

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the launch of its new website, E-Verify.gov. This, says USCIS, is the authoritative source for information on electronic employment eligibility verification. E-Verify.gov is for employers, employees and the general public. The website provides information about E-Verify and Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, includ...

CMS Final Rule Tinkers with Obamacare to Expand Options for Policy Design

April 9, 2018

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) today issued a final rule that seeks more elasticity in how the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) are applied to allow more flexibility in policy offerings and pricing on the federal and state exchanges. The rule will be published in the Federal Register on April 17, and following a 60-day commentary period, will be implemented...

Coming Soon to the Web: Un-Remember Me, Thanks to GDPR

April 9, 2018

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The term GDPR hasn't really sunk in on a mass scale in the U.S., but it's been roiling the social media giants for years as they prepare for May 25. GDPR, the initials for General Data Protection Regulation, is a product of the European Union dating to 2016. Given two years' lead time, American giants like Amazon, Google and Facebook have been hard at work preparing for the implementation of...

April 6, 2018

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HHS, DOJ Turn Up the HEAT* on Health Care Fraud, Recover $2.6 Billion

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General Jeff Sessions today released a fiscal year (FY) 2017 Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program report showing that for every dollar the federal government spent on healthcare related fraud and abuse investigations in the last three years, the government recovered $4. Additionally, the report shows that the departments’ FY 2017...

Is Extended Leave a Reasonable ADA Accommodation?

April 5, 2018

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This week, the Supreme Court turned down a review of a ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that extended leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is not a "reasonable accommodation" under the letter of the law. Two other circuit courts -- the 10th and 11th -- have issued similar rulings. At issue in Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft Inc. was whether a "two-to-three mon...

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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