Each week, you’ll find specially curated news articles to keep you up to date on the ever-evolving world of insurance and risk management. The articles are divided out between items relevant to Property & Casualty, Employee Benefits/Human Resources, and Compliance. We’ve included brief summaries of each item as well as a link to the original articles.
PROPERTY & CASUALTY
Hopeful Cannabis Sales Data an Encouraging Sign for Insurance Specialists
“News has been rife with dreary tidings for the cannabis industry over the past year, but a surprisingly encouraging outlook has emerged among the persistent din of downward harbingers like a flower glut, investment funding shrinkage, and layoffs. Industry sales are expected to continue to rise this year – though not so much for those focused on the Western U.S., where most of the nation’s mature markets are and new data points to negative short-term trends. Beneath it all, both the good and bad in the data may ultimately be positive indicators for insuring cannabis specialists, according to two brokers who have been in the space for years. U.S. legal cannabis sales may grow 14% by year’s end, while overall global growth and spending is on track to yield a market size of $59.6 billion by 2027, a report out today from market intelligence and data provider BDSA shows.” Full Article
– Insurance Journal
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, HUMAN RESOURCES, & COMPLIANCE
Employers, Do No Delay in Responding to A Request for Reasonable Accommodation “When dealing with a request for reasonable accommodation, “an indeterminate delay has the same effect as an outright denial,” as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently noted.” Full Article – Shawe Rosenthal LLP
DOL Clarifies Whether FLSA and FMLA Protections Apply to Remote Employees “The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued new guidance regarding how remote employees should be paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and when they are eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).” Full Article – Phelps Dunbar LLP
ADA and Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new technical assistance, “Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” addressing how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to job applicants and employees with hearing disabilities.” Full Article – Jackson Lewis P.C.
EEOC Continues to Prioritize its Focus on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Employment Decisions “The EEOC first announced its Artificial Intelligence initiative in 2021. The initiative was created to ensure the use of software, including AI and other technologies used in employment decisions, comply with the federal employment laws it is tasked with enforcing.” Full Article – Baker, Sterchi, Cowden & Rice LLC
4 Tips to Avoid (Or At Least Dull) Headaches When Conducting Layoffs in the US “As we find ourselves firmly in the middle of Q1 of 2023, the avalanche of layoff headlines that started last quarter just keeps coming. Whether you follow the school of thought that the US entered a recession in summer of 2022 (after two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product) or not (given a strong labor market and corporate earnings growth), more and more companies are having to address overzealous pandemic hiring and the backlash from soaring company valuations.” Full Article – Baker & McKenzie LLP
No Dogs Allowed: Federal Court Rejects Service Dog Accommodation in Hospital Setting “Most of us know that when an employee or visitor to a place of public accommodation requests a reasonable accommodation, the ADA requires an interactive process to make an individualized determination. But what about a request from a nursing intern to bring her service dog… to a hospital… around patients? Could this qualify as a reasonable accommodation? In Bennett v. Hurley Medical Center, one federal just says, “not always.” Full Article – Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
STATE & INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE
In addition to the RISQ Review, RISQ Consulting also provides a resource that features changes and updates to State and International Compliance measures. We’ve included brief summaries of each item below, and also provided links to the original articles if you’d like to read further.
New York State Legislature Proposes Amendments to Pay Transparency Law Taking Effect This Year “The most notable revision would provide that the law applies to remote positions physically performed outside of New York that report to a New York supervisor, office, or work site. The bill is currently before Governor Hochul, and if signed, would become part of the law taking effect in September.” Full Article – Proskauer Rose LLPNEW YORK
Illinois Equal Pay Certification: A Practical Guide for Employer Compliance “The EPA Amendments make the Illinois Equal Pay Act one of the most demanding pay transparency statutes in the country because it requires employers with 100 or more employees in Illinois to submit employee pay data and a signed compliance statement to obtain an Equal Pay Registration Certificate (EPRC).” Full Article – Littler Mendelson P.C.ILLINOIS
Impact of New Jersey’s Just-Signed Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights “On February 6, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A1474/S511, commonly referred to as the “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights.” The bill offers additional compensation, benefits and protections for temporary workers, with the cost and burden of compliance placed on employers and staffing agencies that place temporary workers.” Full Article – Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLPNEW JERSEY
Connecticut Expands Employment Anti-Discrimination Protections “The Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) prohibits discrimination based on many protected characteristics, such as race, age, gender, gender identity, religion, and disability. The CFEPA is broader than federal anti-discrimination laws in both scope (it covers more categories of employees) and reach (it applies to more employers).” Full Article – Day Pitney LLPCONNECTICUT
Ninth Circuit Reverses Itself and Strikes Down California Law Targeting Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements “In a reversal of its prior ruling, the Ninth Circuit recently held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts California Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51), a 2019 measure that aimed to bar employers from entering into new agreements—or extending previous ones—requiring job applicants or workers to arbitrate claims under the California Labor Code or California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).” Full Article – Morrison Foerster P.C.CALIFORNIA
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