As we move in to the first phase of ACA compliance, a number of employers have been asking me about unionized employees and how they can know whether the employees are “offered” coverage (as required to avoid penalties) when coverage is provided through a multiemployer plan to which the employer contributes. The concern is that since the ACA requires an employer to offer coverage, and because the multiemployer plan is not technically […]

A federal judge in Arkansas granted summary judgment for ConAgra Foods in a collective action brought by a group of departmental Team Leaders who alleged ConAgra misclassified them as exempt and denied them overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In Garrison v. ConAgra Foods, the court determined that the Team Leaders’ job duties satisfied the four-part test for the FLSA’s “executive exemption,” including the requirement that the employer gave […]