03/03/2011

Executive Briefing - Employment & Labor Law/Employee Benefits, March 2011

Executive Briefing is an electronic newsletter that focuses on emerging developments in employment, labor law and employee benefits. View the full text version of Executive Briefing. The following topics are included in the March issue:

Full Reporting of First-Tier Government Subcontract Awards and Executive Compensation Required After March 1, 2011
Government contractors are required to gather information regarding subcontract awards, including executive compensation in certain situations, from first-tier subcontractors. Effective March 1, 2011, any newly awarded subcontract must be reported if the prime contract award amount exceeds $25,000. This differs from the original phased-in reporting requirements that initially only applied to prime contracts in excess of $20 million.

IRS Issues Guidance on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Subject to Employee Releases
Employers often require an employee to sign a release of claims as a condition to receiving certain payments, some of which may constitute nonqualified deferred compensation. Every employer must consider the potential impact of the Internal Revenue Code (Section 409A) for any payment that requires a release in order to avoid terrible tax consequences for affected employees.

Medical Providers and Affirmative Action: The Department of Labor Weighs in on the Tangled Web of Government Contracts
Historically, the question of when health care providers were covered by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program's Executive Order 11246 (Executive Order) has been unsettled. In 2010 the Department of Labor issued a policy directive to clarify when relationships between the government, health care providers and associated insurers will be covered by the Executive Order.

Health Care Reform Judicial Update
As of February 2011, more than 20 cases have been filed by states and private parties challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the Health Care Act or the Act). To date, five districts courts have ruled on this issue. In three of the five cases, the federal district courts have been willing to uphold the constitutionality of the Health Care Act.

NLRB Backs Down from Its Earlier Threats
In a letter signed by the four Attorneys General, Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah rejected the NLRB's demand to "stipulate to the unconstitutionality" of their recent secret ballot protection amendments and emphasized they would vigorously defend their laws if the NLRB pursued the lawsuits. The letter apparently worked. The NLRB recently backed off its previous aggressive position.