Articles by Girish Anand

DOL Announces NPRM on Association Health Plans

January 4, 2018

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The Department of Labor (DOL) today announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to expand the opportunity to offer employment-based health insurance to small businesses through Small Business Health Plans, also known as Association Health Plans. According to the press release announcing the NPRM: Up to 11 million Americans working for small businesses/sole proprietors and their familie...

OSHA Increases Violation Fines for 2018

January 2, 2018

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Effective Jan. 2, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased its fines an average of 2 percent in keeping with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. That legislation initially raised fine levels by 78 percent and authorized OSHA and other agencies to adjust their fines for inflation by Jan. 15 of each year. Accordingly, OSHA has ad...

DOJ Withdraws 25 Guidance Documents for 2017

December 30, 2017

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced that, pursuant to Executive Order 13777 and his November memorandum prohibiting certain guidance documents, he is rescinding 25 such Department of Justice (DOJ) documents that were deemed unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper. In making the announcement, the Attorney General said: Last month, I ended the longstanding ...

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Obamacare Employer Mandate Penalties Arrive in the Mail

December 30, 2017

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The individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) may be expiring -- in 2019 -- but the employer mandate is alive and well, and companies were sent notices in November advising them of any violations and the consequent tax penalty due. According to the employer mandate provision, companies with 50 or more employees are subject to tax penalties if they don't offer minimum...

Kaplan Named Chair of NLRB

December 23, 2017

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President Donald J. Trump has named board member Marvin E. Kaplan to be Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). “The president’s announcement is an honor and privilege, and I look forward to serving as chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.,” Kaplan said. “I remain committed to working with my colleagues to achieve the important goal of issuing timely decisions that a...

Tax Bill Offers Credit for Paid FMLA Leave

December 22, 2017

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The "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" legislation signed this morning by President Trump includes the first federal venture into paid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as it offers a tax credit for companies that provide their employees with paid FMLA leave. The provision, encoded in tax law as "Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave," does not require employers to offer paid leave, but ...

ACA Sign-Ups Reach 8.8 Million on HealthCare.Gov

December 21, 2017

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Despite an open enrollment period only half as long as 2016's and a reduction in advertising and promotion funds by 90 percent, 8.8 million people signed up for health insurance policies on HealthCare.gov, the federal marketplace for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Last year 9.2 million signed up, but they had until Jan. 31 instead of Dec. 15 to do so. State exchanges and the District of Colu...

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OSHA Announces Increase in Workplace Fatalities

December 19, 2017

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OSHA reports fatal overdoses related to work have risen 32 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of 2016 Fatal Occupational Injuries reports there were 5,190 workplace fatalities in 2016, a 7-percent increase from 2015. The fatal injury rate also increased from 3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 20...

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NLRB Restores Pre-Obama Joint Employer Standard

December 15, 2017

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has turned back the clock on the Obama-era standard of what constitutes a joint employer and now maintains that joint employers must have "direct and immediate" control over employees, a standard that held for decades previously. The case in question is Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd. and Brandt Construction Co. Though the Administrative Law Ju...

DOL -- Under Pressure -- Extends Tip Pooling Comment Period

December 13, 2017

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The Department of Labor (DOL) has extended the commentary period on its proposed new tip pooling regulation by 30 days, from Jan. 4 to Feb. 3, 2018. The announcement on Tuesday came after 46 Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives wrote in a letter to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta that repealing the rule would affect 1.3 million workers, and the 30-day comment period it proposed ...

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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