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January 2019

On December 14, 2018, a Texas federal judge ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional.  The basis was that the ACA's individual mandate is no longer binding, because Republicans repealed its financial penalties as part of the 2017 tax reform legislation.  The Supreme Court had previously upheld the ACA by calling the mandate a...
Kiplinger reports that providing workers with medical care on the job is expanding significantly.  By 2016, 40% of large employers had medical clinics on-site or nearby, compared with 25% in 2013.  Most facilities are primary care and wellness clinics that charge little or nothing.  While most are run by contractors, up to 30% of them are c...
Some estimate that over the past year a quarter of America's employers have made significant changes to their hiring standards, such as skipping drug tests or criminal background checks or removing preferences for diplomas.  National employers may vary their hiring standards based upon the location involved.  Only a quarter of entry-level jobs n...
The Obama Administration followed a policy promoting “public shaming” of employers accused of law violations, as a deterrent to discourage violations.  These policies appear to have decreased but are still continuing under the Trump Administration.  A recent example shows why employers need to be careful in their settlement agreements with gover...
With the growing number of right-to-work states, and the new Janus Supreme Court ruling applying the right-to-work concept to governmental employees, unions are developing new tactics to maintain their income through dues collection.  Some locals of a very aggressive national union, the Service Employees International Union, have introduced a pre-pai...
Parties to contracts in recent years overwhelmingly favor the use of arbitration rather than court litigation to resolve disputes.  The general thinking is that arbitration is quicker, cheaper, more private, and avoids the potential of "runaway" juries.  The court system seems to like arbitration as well, as it lessens their case load and suppor...