There were a large number of new state and federal employment laws, employment regulations and court decisions in 2011-2012 involving employment law which affects both employers and employees.  Lawyers must be aware of these new issues when representing their clients and law firms as employers must comply with these new requirements.  This article will briefly

Under the common law “mailbox rule,” the proper and timely mailing of a document raises a rebuttable presumption that the document was received by the addressee. A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a case involving a claim for short term disability benefits makes it clear, however, that

A recent decision by West Virginia’s highest court could – if permitted to stand – ultimately require insurers to violate their record retention obligations, destroy broad swathes of business records, and seriously compromise insurer regulatory compliance and anti-fraud activity. The author of this article discusses the decision and its implications.

What started as a tragedy

As a full time employee of Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc., the plaintiff in this case qualified for and participated in Toyota’s short term disability (STD) and long term disability (LTD) plans. The plaintiff contended in his lawsuit that he met the definition of “disability” under both plans but that he had been wrongfully

The New York State enacted a new law entitled Wage Theft Provention Act (the “Act”) which went into effect in April 2011 for new employees. As outlined in our prior February 2011 Employment Bulletin, the Act requires New York employers to provide written notice of certain wage, payroll and other related information. The required

The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) has become a potent tool in the New York automobile insurance industry’s efforts to combat no-fault insurance fraud. The author of this article describes how insurers may successfully plead and prove their RICO claims – with the attendant treble damages and attorneys’ fees – by

There are a number of new laws and regulations with which employers in New York must comply involving wages, commissions, independent contractors, tips, domestic workers, funeral leave, family medical leave, retaliation, genetic information and victims of domestic violence. Additionally, the federal and state Departments of Labor as well as other federal and state agencies

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Barry Cohan, D.D.S. et al
                        United States Court of Appeals For The Second Circuit

A decision issued by the United States Court of Appeals for The Second Circuit on February 8, 2011 affirmed an order of the District Court, which denied defendants’ motion to

Construction Industry Fair Play Act

New York Governor David A. Paterson recently signed into law the “Construction Industry Fair Play Act,” a new piece of legislation that will drastically affect employers in the construction industry. Reflecting a continued concern over employer misclassification of independent contractors, the new law, which took effect on October 26,

In State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. v. Mallela,[1] the New York Court of Appeals held that an insurer may withhold payment for medical services provided by “fraudulently incorporated” enterprises to which patients had assigned their no fault claims. As indicated in the Insurance Fraud column published here in January,[2] that ruling (in which the