Management Update
Volume 1, Issue 7August 2012
Management Update Briefing
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. presents Management Update Briefing, a half-day labor and employment law seminar. REGISTRATION OPEN NOW!

Date
Thursday, September 20, 2012
8:30-11:30 a.m.

Location

Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P.

LL&E Tower, Suite 1500

909 Poydras Street

New Orleans, Louisiana 70112-4004

 

Cost

$15.00 per attendee

 

HR CERTIFICATION PENDING

 

Presenters

Fredrick E. Preis, Jr.

Rachael Jeanfreau

Joseph R. Hugg


The New Healthcare Landscape for Businesses under the Affordable Care Act

On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court upheld key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed into law by President Obama in March 2010. Although the Court struck the Act's Medicaid expansion provision, it upheld the individual mandate, the lynchpin of the entire Act. The Act includes several provisions that will affect employer-sponsored health plans and also mandates several new requirements for employer healthcare plans that will increase employers' costs. Read the entire article by Rachael Jeanfreau 

 

Full article written by BSW Labor & Employment attorney Rachael Jeanfreau can be found here


Democrats Introduce Bill to the House to Increase Minimum Wage
A bill was introduced on Thursday, July 26, 2012 by more than 100 House Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.80. The increase would be raised over the next three consecutive years at 85 cents per year, then linked to inflation thereafter. If the bill is passed, it will be the first time minimum wage will be indexed to automatically increase with inflation. Today, a minimum wage employee earns $7.25 an hour which amounts to roughly $15,080 per year, below federal poverty level for a household of two. Eighteen states have taken matters into their own hands and have raised the minimum wage rates higher than the federal level.

PPACA Lactation Rights Thrown Out of Court

On July 19th, a federal district court in Iowa held that the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) amended the Fair Labor Standards Act making it a requirement for employers to have available a reasonable break time and private room, other than a bathroom, for a female employee to express her milk for nursing. 

 

A former employee of Casey's Marketing Co. claimed that the company failed to give her a private and secure place to express milk. She quit her job after being reprimanded after she complained about the non-private space. 

 

Partially dismissing her claims, the court held that if an employer violates the requirements, the PPACA did not create a private right of action for those violations. Rather, the court noted in its ruling that the plaintiff was limited to filing a complaint directly to the Labor Department.

However, the district court did not dismiss her retaliation claim that she was constructively discharged for complaining about the lack of the accommodations. Because the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prohibits employer retaliation against an employee that complains, the court determined that the protection extended to complaints regarding the new lactation rights.


Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. Labor and Employment Attorneys

 

John T. Andrishok

[email protected] 

225.381.8020

Murphy J. Foster, III

[email protected] 

225.381.8015

Leo C. Hamilton

[email protected] 

225.381.8056

Joseph R. Hugg

 [email protected] 

504.584.5466

Rachael Jeanfreau

[email protected] 

504.584.5467

Steven B. Loeb

[email protected] 

225.381.8050

Eve B. Masinter

[email protected] 

504.584.5468

Yvonne R. Olinde

[email protected] 

225.381.8026

E. Fredrick Preis, Jr.

[email protected] 

504.584.5470

Melissa M. Shirley

[email protected] 

225.381.3173

Jennifer D. Sims

[email protected] 

225.381.8048

Jerry L. Stovall

[email protected] 

225.381.8042

 

 
This electronic newsletter is provided to clients and friends of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. The information described is general in nature, and may not apply to your specific situation. Legal advice should be sought before taking action based on the information discussed. Applicable State Bar or Attorney Regulations May Require This Be Labeled as "Advertising."Anchor1