Worldwide: Employee Benefits & Compensation

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed two significant employment law bills that will reshape workplace obligations for Illinois employers. Senate Bill 3777 codifies disparate impact liability under state law, creating an independent avenue for challenging facially neutral employment practices that disproportionately affect protected groups, while House Bill 4844 mandates that employers with over 25 employees compensate workers at their regular rate of pay for jury duty service beginning in 2027.

Illinois has expanded employee protections for jury service. Illinois law has long prohibited employers from retaliating against employees for serving on a jury and required employers to provide time off for jury duty.

The Department of Labor has issued two opinion letters clarifying when employee travel between home and work qualifies as compensable time under the Fair Labor Standards Act. While mid-day commuting chosen voluntarily by hybrid workers to avoid rush hour traffic remains non-compensable, travel time becomes compensable when employers control the timing and require substantial work immediately before and after the commute. These letters establish important distinctions for employers navigating flexible work a

In Lutz v. Froedtert Health, the Seventh Circuit ruled a health system correctly included shift differentials, weekend differentials, and incentive pay in employees’ regular rate of pay before calculating overtime, consistent with the FLSA and Wisconsin law.

The Seventh Circuit's recent affirmation in Rush v. GreatBanc Trust Co. establishes important precedents for ESOP transactions, particularly regarding fiduciary duties and prohibited transactions when selling ESOP-owned companies. The decision addresses whether an ESOP trustee and board members breached their duties in a 2016 sale to private equity and whether post-sale management investment constitutes a prohibited transaction under ERISA.

California employers have been closely watching how courts will exercise their discretion to reduce PAGA penalties in the wake of the 2024 reforms.

The Department of Labor has proposed a new electronic disclosure safe harbor for group health plans that would allow plan administrators to furnish required ERISA notices digitally through a Notice...

This comprehensive policy update examines critical developments in federal workplace regulation, including the postponed confirmation vote for Labor Secretary nominee Keith Sonderling, new DOL guidance on employee travel compensation, and proposed changes to health plan disclosure requirements. The analysis also covers significant legislative advances in the House Committee on Education and Workforce, featuring bills that would reshape franchise employment standards and union leadership qualifications, alon

Former American Express employees have filed a class action lawsuit alleging the company maintained underperforming investment funds in its $9 billion 401(k) plan, including proprietary target-date funds that served as default options. The plaintiffs claim these investment decisions breached fiduciary duties under ERISA and cost participants hundreds of millions in potential retirement savings, while potentially benefiting Amex's business relationship with Morgan Stanley Investment Management.