The SHRM Civility Index shows incivility levels at record highs for 2024’s fourth quarter, scoring 40.9 out of 100 on workplace incivility and 49.7 on society incivility. Over three-quarters of U.S. workers stated that they had experienced or witnessed incivility over the past month.
Along with those acts of incivility, the costs of incivility also
Benefits attorneys should be mindful of three appellate arguments that were scheduled for December 2024.
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Tennessee Gender-Affirming Care for Minors Case
In United States v. Skrmetti et al., case number 23-477, the Supreme Court will consider whether the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause applies to access to gender-affirming
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a final rule that permanently increases the automatic extension period for certain immigrants’ employment authorization documents (EADs). The rule, which takes effect on January 13, 2025, automatically extends the EAD renewal period from 180 to 540 days.
According to USCIS, the increased extension period will help ensure
Kimberly-Clark has reached a $2.25 million settlement with participants and beneficiaries of the company’s 401(k) plan in an ERISA suit involving excessive fees. Two former Kimberly-Clark employees, the named class members in the suit, asked a Texas federal court to preliminarily approve the settlement agreement to end the case, which has been pending for three
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has vacated a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that forced Elon Musk to delete a 2018 anti-union tweet. The NLRB found that Musk’s tweet, which focused on the potentially negative consequences of Tesla workers unionizing, was an unlawful threat under Section 8(c) of the National
In Muldrow v. St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a transferred employee must prove “some harm” regarding an identifiable term or condition of employment to maintain a discrimination claim under Title VII. This standard of proof is different and lower than some circuit courts of appeal have required in the past. Therefore,
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it is collecting voluntary data from retirement plan administrators to populate its new Retirement Savings Lost and Found database. Section 303 of the SECURE 2.0 Act directs DOL to consult with the Department of Treasury to establish this database
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2024-80, which makes adjustments to the annual contribution limits for qualified defined contribution plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for the 2025 tax year.
Qualified Defined Contribution Plans
The annual contribution limit for workers participating in qualified defined contribution plans, which include 401(k), 403(b), and most
Walmart recently announced that it intends to abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, currently part of its nonprofit Center for Racial Equity. The world’s largest retailer has joined several other major corporations in distancing themselves from DEI policies, including Boeing, Deere & Co., Ford, Harley Davidson, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lowe’s, and Tractor Supply.
Health plans charging so-called “tobacco surcharges” to increase health insurance premiums for smokers have increasingly come under fire through a series of class action lawsuits alleging violations of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The lawsuits, which are currently pending in federal district courts in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and other states,
