Publications
Domicile and residence are two distinct legal concepts. Your domicile is the place you intend to make your home. You can be a resident of more than one state, but you are domiciled in only one state. Domicile is indicated by a number of factors, which can include the location of your principal residence, bank […]
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, many employers have implemented charitable-leave programs or "leave-based donation programs." Under these programs, employees can elect to forego accrued vacation, sick, or personal leave pay and have their employers contribute these amounts to charitable organizations. Ordinarily, when a portion of an individual's income is assigned […]
Low-income housing tax credits, available through Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, offer an attractive mechanism for the equity financing of multi-family housing projects serving low to moderate income individuals. The increasing popularity of assisted living facilities to serve the elderly has led developers to seek a way of blending the assisted living requirements […]
The leading causes of public well contamination in Connecticut areunintentional leaks and spills of cleaning solvents and fuel oils. Thecost of treating contaminated groundwater is a significant expense, asis the extension of water supply mains to provide potable water in areasof private well contamination. Consequently, the Connecticut Departmentof Environmental Protection (DEP) has developed several initiatives […]
A new Executive Order bans federal contracts for at least one year for employers that knowingly hire or retain illegal aliens. For the past ten years, all employers have been subject to fines and criminal penalties for hiring undocumented workers. The magnitude of this new sanction for federal contractors, coupled with the U.S. Immigration and […]
In today’s global economy, it is becoming more common for U.S. employeesto work in another country for a period of time. These assignments maylast for a few months, or for a few years. As with any move, issues ofresidency and domicile will arise, but living and working abroad alsoraises international tax issues. Will My Domicile […]
In 1998, the United States Supreme Court decided Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 74 (1998), and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton , 524 U.S. 775 (1998), both of which addressed the scope of employer liability in sexual harassment cases. The Court held that an employer may be vicariously liable to an employee […]
In a decision notable for its clarity and common sense, Michigan’s Supreme Court in Greene v. A.P. Products, Ltd. and Revlon Consumer Products Corp. recently sustained a trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the manufacturer and retail seller of a hair and body beauty oil which was swallowed by an 11-month old resulting in […]
Warm feelings of affection may prompt one to make monetary gifts to loved ones. But those feelings can rapidly chill if the donor unexpectedly finds out that taxes are due on the gift. Donors who are considering making gifts in order to transfer wealth and shift income to the next generation also need to factor […]
Warm feelings of affection may prompt one to make monetary gifts to loved ones. But those feelings can rapidly chill if the donor unexpectedly finds out that taxes are due on the gift. Donors who are considering making gifts in order to transfer wealth and shift income to the next generation also need to factor […]
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut this month amended the Court’s Local Rules to address the recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) regarding the discovery of electronically stored information. The new Local Rules are designed to track the amendments to the FRCP and to ensure that issues […]
On April 23, 2004, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule regarding the wage and hour overtime exemptions. Expected to become effective on August 23, 2004, the rule revises existing regulations governing the payment of overtime to employees under federal law. As noted below, the final rules vary in some significant […]
Summary The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought and settled administrative civil fraud charges against E.ON AG, formerly Veba AG, for making materially false and misleading statements in which it denied the existence of ongoing merger negotiations with Viag AG. SEC Release No. 43372 (September 28, 2000). The SEC found that foreign issuers must comply […]
Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. On March 19th the Supreme Court handed down its first decision interpreting the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). The Court ruled in a five to four decision that there is no legal authority for the Department of Labor’s (“DOL’s”) regulation that automatically penalizes employers for failing to give […]
Effective October 1, 2001, Connecticut’s probate courts will have expanded ability to remove and replace fiduciaries, and beneficiaries of Connecticut estates and trusts, including individuals and charitable corporations, will not need to establish that a fiduciary’s performance is inadequate before obtaining a new fiduciary. Prior Law Generally Required Cause Prior to Public Act […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued revised enforcement guidelines which give employers increased leeway in asking applicants about reasonable accommodation of a known disability prior to making a job offer. The guidelines replace more restrictive interim guidelines issued by the EEOC in May 1994. These new guidelines should hopefully provide employers with a […]
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld an award of punitive damages in a Title VII case where no actual or nominal damages were awarded. Title VII provides recovery for punitive damages where the plaintiff demonstrates that the defendant “engaged in a discriminatory practice … with malice or with reckless indifference to the federally […]
After less than an hour of deliberation, a jury awarded damages to James Mullins, a 57 year old employee of Pfizer, Inc. who claimed that Pfizer representatives lied to him when he asked about the possibility of an early retirement incentive plan in the near future. When asked, Pfizer representatives denied any intention to announce […]
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a field directive outlining its procedures for processing employee benefit plans that were not timely amended under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Most plan sponsors had until the end of the 1994 plan year to submit plans to the IRS for approval of their tax-qualified status. For those […]
Long used in the equipment-financing arena as a way to secure off balance sheet financing, the synthetic lease is now recognized as a viable real estate financing option. As its name implies, the synthetic lease is a hybrid form of financing, combining the financial reporting advantages of an operating lease with the tax advantages of […]
Public Act 00-89, An Act Concerning Fair Market Value of Brownfields,which became effective on May 26, 2000, requires that when redevelopmentagencies (which can include local and regional school districts,regional pollution control authorities, and a variety of communitydevelopment agencies) take property by eminent domain, the amount to bepaid to the property owner is the fair market […]
In the last issue of the Employment Advisory, we reported the case of Schaffer v. Ames Department Stores, (see “Connecticut Federal District Court Holds Supervisors Are Not Liable Under Title VII” ) the first case in Connecticut to hold that supervisors could not be held individually liable for violations of Title VII. Subsequently, the individual […]
The Ellerth-Faragher Defense As many employers know, under Supreme Court rulings, an employer may avoid liability in a sexual harassment case by establishing: 1) that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any sexually harassing behavior; and 2) that the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities […]
In this new practical advice feature, we will endeavor to highlight a particular area of employment or benefits law. Using a question and answer format, we hope to share some insights about commonly asked questions or little known legal requirements in an effort to help our clients fully comply with the ever growing web of […]
The Second Circuit recently ruled in Eisenberg v. Advance Relocation &Storage, Inc. that an individual classified by her employer as anindependent contractor was nevertheless an "employee" for purposes ofrelevant anti-discrimination laws. In determining whether a worker is anemployee within the meaning of state and federal anti-discriminationlaws, the Court held particular weight should be placed on […]
You may be familiar with the common practice of an attorney enteringinto agreements with parties to a closing whereby the attorney holds aportion of the closing proceeds in escrow pending resolution of someissue such as a needed repair. Typically, upon completion of the repairor expiration of the time allowed therefor, the escrowed portion isdistributed to […]
Privacy Requirements Have Your HIPAA Privacy Compliance Strategy Defined, Budgeted and Under Way When extending the compliance deadline for the electronic transactions and code sets regulations, Congress specifically stated that it was not extending the April 14, 2003 compliance date for the privacy regulations. Privacy generally is the most expansive of the HIPAA requirements and […]
Security Requirements Understand the Proposed Requirements and Address Them Where Appropriate in Privacy Implementation The HIPAA security regulations are still in proposed form, as originally published on August 12, 1998. (Available at www.aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/bannerps.htm#security.) These proposed regulations outline general HIPAA-required security measures, including administrative, physical and technical safeguards. It is generally believed that the final security […]
Electronic Transactions and Code Sets Requirements File Compliance Plan by October 15, 2002 to Extend Compliance Deadline These regulations and associated implementation guides establish standards for certain electronic transactions, such as electronic billing, and data elements for these transactions to standardize the electronic exchange of health information. (The final electronic transactions and code set requirements […]
ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS AND POTENTIAL IMPACT ON IMPLEMENTATION TASKS On March 27, 2002, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued proposed regulations that would modify certain standards in the Privacy Rule. These proposed modifications are contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”). Most significantly, the NPRM would permit health care providers […]