Articles by Girish Anand

February 28, 2017

29 view(s)

OMB Concludes Review of Fiduciary Rule Delay Proposal

Following an executive action by President Trump, the Department of Labor (DOL) submitted a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to delay implementation of its fiduciary rule by 180 days. OMB has now concluded its review, and the proposal could be opened to a public commentary period shortly. Originally set to take effect on April 7, the fiduciary rule would place new burdens ...

February 23, 2017

31 view(s)

Fate of Obama Overtime Rule to Be Determined by May 1

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the Trump administration an additional 60 days to decide what to do about appealing an injunction placed on the Obama-era overtime rule that was set to take effect this past Dec. 1, making May 1 decision day. The 60 days are in addition to an earlier 30-day extension, which expired yesterday (Feb. 22). The overtime rule, issued by the Departme...

February 22, 2017

26 view(s)

Trump Administration Rescinds Obama-era Transgender Bathroom Use Rules

Already subject to an injunction and ongoing litigation, the joint rule by the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) mandating free bathroom choice at public schools was rescinded today by the administration of President Donald Trump. The rule would have allowed students to choose their bathroom based on self-proclaimed gender identity. The Trump DOJ and DOE orde...

February 22, 2017

39 view(s)

Post-Trump, the IRS Will Allow Tax Returns that Are 'Silent' about Health Insurance

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, the IRS was tasked with exacting monetary fines on individual taxpayers who do not have health insurance for the full time of the reporting period, generally a calendar year. The ACA, under a provision known as Individual Shared Responsibility, even established an escalating scale for the dollar amount to be fined. For 2017, the IRS an...

February 21, 2017

16 view(s)

New SBC Template in Effect April 1

A new Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) template goes into effect April 1. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which may or may not be repealed this year by Republicans, requires that SBCs be distributed to policyholders each year, detailing the coverage they have under their health plan. The April 1 deadline applies to policies coming into effect on that date or later. Thus calendar-year pla...

February 15, 2017

23 view(s)

CMS Under Trump Proposes Big Changes to Obamacare

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) today proposed shortening the open enrollment period for Obamacare, virtually cutting it in half, while also lowering the benefits and coverage standards for health insurers. The latter is designed to stabilize and eventually lower premiums. The proposed new enrollment period for insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is set to run from Nov. 1...

February 15, 2017

43 view(s)

Humana to Exit Obamacare Exchanges

Saying it is "seeing further signs of an unbalanced risk pool," Humana announced on Tuesday that it is exiting the health insurance exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which may be moot if the Republicans in Congress carry out their threat to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, though their timetable is uncertain. Humana last year already drastically scaled back its involvement i...

February 15, 2017

17 view(s)

Business, Trade Groups Ask Congress to Overturn NLRB Joint Employer Rule

In a letter to members of the House Education and Workforce Committee Tuesday, more than 50 business and trade groups asked Congress to pass legislation to overturn the joint employer standard of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which holds franchisers equally responsible with franchisees for employee workplace issues. “The president can nominate two new board members, but those nomi...

February 14, 2017

53 view(s)

Acting Chair Says Much Will Remain the Same at the EEOC

Victoria A. Lipnic, named by President Trump to be acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), told participants in a panel discussion that the commission will continue to enforce harassment and discrimination laws but will also focus on expanding economic opportunity and job growth. “It is a new day and to the extent [we can] help foster employment opportunity and eco...

February 12, 2017

43 view(s)

DOJ Withdraws Appeal of Transgender Bathroom Rule Injunction

On Friday, Feb. 10, the Department of Justice (DOJ) under new Attorney-General Jeff Sessions withdrew its challenge of an injunction that blocked that department's Obama-era regulation seeking free access to bathroom-of-choice use at public schools. At issue is what's known as gender identity. If a boy or girl identifies as the opposite sex despite physical characteristics, he or she can choos...

69 of 221

Options

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.

View All Articles

Articles by Girish Anand