Legal/Compliance Roundup - July 2023

Pregnancy-related Accommodations Requirement Now Active

As of June 27th, 2023, new standards under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act require employers with 15 or more employees to provide more meaningful accommodations to their pregnant workers.

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Some of those accommodations can include (although the list is not exhaustive):

• Allowing pregnant workers more frequent and longer breaks;
• Broadening work policies that may limit food and drink consumption;
• Providing seating;
• Decreasing maximum weight loads that the employee must carry; and
• Incorporating additional flexibility into work scheduling.

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You can read more about the new standards here. 

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Minnesota Enacts Mandatory Paid Family & Medical Leave Continues Building

Minnesota has become the 12th state (including Washington DC) to enact mandated paid family and medical leave and Maine appears to be close behind. 

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With some exceptions, Minnesota’s policy will apply to both full-time and part-time workers experiencing issues including serious medical problems, parental leave, family emergencies, safety concerns, and other situations that meet the statutory criteria.

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Employees that satisfy all the requisite conditions are able to receive up to 12 weeks of paid leave for each type of leave that may apply to them, though total paid leave available under the law is capped at 20 weeks in a full benefit year per employee.

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Eligible employees can receive weekly payments amounting to: 

• 90% of their average weekly pay that doesn’t exceed 50% of the average weekly pay across Minnesota as a whole;
• 66% of their wages that fall between 50% and 100% of the average weekly wage in Minnesota; and
• 55% of of their wages that exceed 100% of the state’s average weekly wage.

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For Minnesota employers that participate in both the family and medical leave enrollments, the premium rates will be 7%, although that figure will be lower for employers that participate in only one of the programs supplemented by an approved private plan.

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You can read more about these developments here. 

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The Best Ways To Avoid ERISA Lawsuits

In order to maintain above-board benefits management and avoid ERISA complaints as well as the accompanying legal expenses, there are a number of different ideas and strategies that employers, human resources professionals, and/or plan administrators may wish to consider adopting, including:

• Holding regular training sessions with relevant staff members as legal guidelines evolve, and conducting regular audits of internal processes to ensure strict continued compliance as internal processes organically change over time in response;
• Prioritizing timeliness, transparency, and thoroughness in all plan-related communications with participants. By providing a comprehensive and detailed accounting of the features of the plan including what rights and responsibilities are maintained by plan participants, employers build trust and reduce their legal exposure via good faith disclosure;
• Investing in fiduciary liability insurance provides another additional layer of security, especially in situations where subjectivity can come into play - whether in relatively small matters such as the determining the ‘reasonableness’ of fees or with regard to more significant decisions, including assessing risk tolerance and/or potential conflicts of interest; and
• Procuring the services of a seasoned benefits advisor to help navigate the ever-changing waters of ERISA compliance combines your team’s company-specific experience and internal process familiarity, coupled with outside perspective and subject-matter expertise to help close exposure gaps and develop preventative strategies.

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You can read more about this topic here. 

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Department of Labor Tips for Retirement Benefit Cybersecurity 

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration published a blog post outlining a number of tips for employee retirement plan sponsors and participants to minimize cyber vulnerabilities, which included advice like:

• Registering your accounts online to virtually monitor the assets. By regularly checking in through an online portal, plan holders can quickly assess any activity they encounter that appears suspicious. Further, not registering your accounts online opens the door for criminals to fraudulently assume your identity;
• Regularly updating passwords, which should be a combination of at least 14 characters made up of letters, numbers, and symbols. It’s best to steer clear from words that are in the dictionary. Reusing passwords across many sites is frowned upon, as well;
• Enabling two-factor authentication - which can include fingerprint scans, verification text messages, or confirmation email - can add a disproportionate level of protection relative to the inconvenience;
• Installing and regularly updating antivirus software and patches, which lose effectiveness if you’re not using the most recent versions that are best tuned to protect against the most recent and most common threats; and
• Preparing in advance for what to do in the event of a cyber breach or identity theft, including reviewing how to report the incident and making sure that your company’s contact info for the relevant personnel is up-to-date in the digital account management platforms, with notifications turned on if applicable.

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You can access the Department of Labor post and read more about this topic here. 

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