In an era where digital transactions are becoming increasingly prevalent, the mechanisms by which financial institutions inform customers of potential fraudulent activities are under scrutiny. Recently proposed revisions seek not only to bolster security measures but also to ensure that customers are promptly and clearly notified, thus minimizing the risk…
Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. Firm News & Events
Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Estate Planning Attorneys
Artificial intelligence (AI) is in the beginning stages of a revolution. For the better part of the last century, this technology saw little application outside of data analytics and computer algorithms. Today, AI can replicate real communication with surprising ease. ChatGPT, for instance, is known for its ability to draft…
Converting Excess 529 Plan Account Funds to a Roth IRA
A 529 plan account is a tax-efficient way to save for a child’s or grandchild’s education costs. 529 plans, legally known as “qualified tuition plans,” are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. 529 plan accounts have multiple…
Revamped COVID Guidance From the CDC Drops 5-Day Isolation Rule
Emergency room visits and hospital admissions for COVID-19 are down more than 75%, and deaths are down by more than 90%, from the peak of the Omicron wave in January 2022. As the COVID epidemic moves farther into the horizon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has modified…
NLRB Finds That Wearing BLM Logo in the Workplace is Protected Concerted Activity
In a ruling that could have far reaching implications in both unionized and non-union work environments, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) ruled that Home Depot violated Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it terminated an employee for refusing to remove a BLM logo…
Ruling Illustrates the Importance of the “Interactive Process” to Successfully Defend a Failure to Accommodate Claim
The duty to provide “reasonable accommodation” to an employee with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) poses significant challenges and legal risks to employers. Determining when an employee’s request for a workplace accommodation is “reasonable” and thus must be…
Learn Your ABC’s: Employer Gets Schooled in Misclassification Case
Classifying workers as independent contractors can result in significant cost savings for employers, who are relieved of the obligation to offer company sponsored employee benefits (paid time off, health insurance contributions, etc.), to pay into state-sponsored employee benefit programs (e.g., paid sick leave, temporary disability, unemployment), and comply with other…
USDOL Issues Final Rule Restoring the Narrower “Economic Reality” Standard for Independent Contractor Status Under the FLSA
Effective March 11, 2024, the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) will implement its final rule, Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, rescinding the 2021 Trump era Independent Contractor Rule that made it easier for employers to establish independent contractor status. The final rule substantially…
NJ Attorney General and Commissioner of Labor Put Employers Who Misclassify Employees as Independent Contractors on Notice: We Are Coming After You
In a December 11, 2021 press release, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Plotkin and New Jersey Department of Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo announced the filing of the first lawsuit under a 2021 law that enhances the State’s authority to curtail illegal misclassification of workers as independent contractors through actions such…
$15M Verdict for Surgeon Who Claimed Employer Mishandled its Investigation into Sexual Assault Allegations against Him and was the Product of Anti-Male Bias
In a retrenchment of the #MeToo movement’s maxim that “all women must be believed,” a federal jury in Philadelphia found that a University engaged in anti-male bias when it investigated female resident’s sexual assault claim and awarded the accused male employee a whopping $15 million dollars in damages. The Facts:…