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Featured Item
Painkiller Oxycontin to be Removed from BWC Formulary
On Sept. 1, 2011, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) implemented the outpatient medication formulary rule for the pharmacy program. The formulary contains a list of drugs the BWC will cover when prescribed for allowed conditions in an approved claim. The Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee maintains the list, and regularly reviews and updates it. Drugs not previously reviewed by the committee and listed in the formulary are not eligible for coverage by BWC.
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Publications
Supreme Court Remands Equal Pay Act Case
On February 25, 2019, the United States Supreme Court remanded a case captioned Yovino v. Rizo to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Yovino, the Ninth Circuit held that a company’s utilization of a female employee’s prior salary as a factor in paying her less than a male counterpart violated the Equal Pay Act.
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DOL Sets New Overtime Rule Exemption Threshold
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated overtime rule, raising the minimum salary threshold required for workers to qualify for the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (FLSA) white-collar exemptions to $35,308 per year. The rule will boost the standard salary level from $455 to $679 per week.
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The FLSA requires employers to pay employees overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Department of Labor Update
On March 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor released new opinion letters that addressed compliance issues related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division on how a particular law applies to a specific circumstance.
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The newest FMLA opinion letter clarifies whether employers can let workers take paid leave in lieu of FMLA Leave.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Update
Last week, members of the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced a bill that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation. Title VII prohibits discrimination based on “sex.” The bill defines “sex” to include sex stereotype, sexual orientation or gender identity, and pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition.
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FAIR ACT
On February 28, 2019, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct) introduced the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (the “FAIR act). The goal of this bill is to increase Americans’ right to seek justice and accountability through the court system.
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If passed, the bill would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements that force arbitration of future employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes.
