Brian Carnie

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As employers are well-aware, the Affordable Care Act (ACA or “Obamacare”) imposes certain minimum employee health insurance coverage requirements for employers that employ 50 or more fulltime employees (aka “applicable large employers”).  Employers who do not meet the employee coverage mandate face statutory penalties for non-compliance.  In the face of these additional costs, some employers…

From New York to Hollywood and now New Orleans, well-publicized allegations of sexual harassment have dominated the news.  Click here for a recent CNN article on a recent issue.  Sexual harassment is unlawful and can lead to much bigger issues than bad press.   Click here for information on sex-based discrimination from the U.S. Equal Employment…

A Federal District Judge in Texas struck down an Obama administration Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division rule that would have nearly doubled the salary basis requirement for some exempt employees.  Had the rule remained in place, for certain exempt employees, employers would have had to roughly double the exempt employees’ salaries to maintain…

Disability access lawsuits have become a cottage industry and they have found their way into Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.  Most are brought by the serial litigants working with same law firm.  These plaintiffs visit a business for the primary purpose of discovering an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility violation and then file a federal…

On Friday, November 18, 2016, the IRS announced an automatic extension of the Affordable Care Act deadlines for distributing the 1094-B/1095-B and 1094-C/1095-C forms to employees. This relief gives applicable employers an additional 30 days (from January 31, 2017 to March 2, 2017) to deliver these forms to employees. This relief only applies for the…

Record breaking voter turn out is expected on Tuesday.   Employers should be aware that neither federal nor Louisiana law requires an employer to give an employee time off to vote, but Louisiana law does forbid employers from discriminating against an employee based on his or her political beliefs.  It also prohibits all employers from attempting…

As the flood waters begin to recede, and South Louisiana begins to dry out and recover from the recent flooding, Louisiana employers also face recovery issues, including how to address employee needs. Although there is no rule of thumb that applies to all situations, common sense, consistency, and compassion can go a long way. Flexibility,…

The wait is over (for better or worse) – the DOL has released its final rule concerning  changes to the salary requirements to be exempt from the overtime pay requirement under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Under the final rule, the DOL has increased the minimum salary threshold that must be paid in order…