BW INSIGHTS

Now is the Time for Plan Sponsors to Correct Plan Errors: IRS Issues Guidance on the Expansion of EPCRS and Self-Corrections

By Cynthia Boyle Lande | 06.21.2023

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued interim guidance, provided in Notice 2023-43, that explains the expansion of plan sponsors’ ability to self-correct errors in qualified retirement plans. The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) sets forth the IRS’s guidance to plan sponsors on how to correct errors relating to qualified... Read More

Iowa Workforce Development Expands Registered Apprenticeship Programs

By Hannah C. Welch | 06.19.2023

Governor Reynolds continues to work towards creating new and expanding current opportunities for apprenticeships throughout the state. At the beginning of the 2023 Legislative Session, Governor Reynolds gave her Condition of the State address where she announced new funding that would be focused on growing Iowa’s Registered Apprenticeship (RA)... Read More

Child Labor Regulations Relaxed in Iowa

By Danielle Smid | 06.16.2023

On May 26, 2023, Iowa experienced a significant development in its child labor laws as Governor Kim Reynolds signed a new bill into law. This legislation, which had previously cleared the state legislature (House 60-34, Senate 29-18), was submitted to Governor Reynolds for her final approval on May 3, 2023. The newly enacted law modifies existing... Read More

Non-Compete Agreements Facing Additional Challenges

By Danielle Smid | 06.06.2023

On May 24, 2023, Governor Walz signed into law a significant change to the enforceability of employee covenants not to compete. In any employment agreement entered into on or after July 1, 2023, post-employment covenants not to compete will be void and unenforceable. Iowa employers conducting business with Minnesota employees, including remote... Read More

EEOC Provides Guidance on Employers Using AI in the Workplace

By Danielle Smid | 05.24.2023

The convenience and efficiency of utilizing Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) to hire employees, observe performance, and make decisions about pay and promotion opportunities could run your business into issues with Title VII, if the employer does not have sufficient oversight measures in place to monitor these tools effects. On May 18, 2023, the... Read More

NLRB Returns to Previous Precedent for Employee Severance Agreements

By Danielle Smid | 03.30.2023

On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in McLaren Macomb, returning to previous precedent holding that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The decision involved severance agreements... Read More

OSHA's New Plan for Workplace Safety in 2023

By Benjamin Merrill | 03.17.2023

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the federal agency responsible for ensuring safe and healthy working conditions for employees across the United States. In January 2023, OSHA announced an aggressive new plan to address workplace safety, including several key initiatives aimed at reducing injuries and fatalities in the... Read More

No More Non-Competes? What Pending Laws May Mean for Employment in Iowa

By Danielle Smid | 02.23.2023

There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you’re currently subject to a non-compete provision. Non-compete provisions or agreements are notorious in that they have a complicated and long history within labor and employment law. For instance, in England circa 1414, an apprentice promised to refrain from practicing his trade for 6 months in... Read More

Affordable Care Act Deadline Extension

By Cynthia Boyle Lande & Maggie Simonson Schild | 12.19.2022

On December 15, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations extending deadlines for providing certain information statements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The extension applies to Forms 1095-C, filed and issued by applicable large employers (ALEs), who are subject to the ACA Employer Mandate. The extension also applies to... Read More

NLRB Proposes Expanded Definition of Joint Employer Status

By Danielle Smid | 10.31.2022

In an attempt to tackle uncertainty and litigation in a progressively complex world of employment relationships, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently proposed a new rule for determining joint-employer status. On September 6, 2022 the NLRB released a notice proposing to rescind and replace the “Joint Employer Status Under the National... Read More