BenefitsWire

“The WHD began with the settled rule that an ordinary home-to-work commute is a “normal incident of employment” that primarily benefits the employee and has never been treated as work. Critically, the WHD explained ordinary commuting was understood not to be “work” even before the Portal-to-Portal Act existed, so its exclusion does not depend on that statute. From that premise, the WHD drew its key conclusion: an otherwise-ordinary commute does not become compensable simply because it happens in the middle of the workday. The ordinary commute is thus a third category of noncompensable time that can occur during the continuous workday, alongside meal breaks and off-duty periods. Applying this ” MORE >>

Source: Ogletree Deakins

“The DOL confirmed that the home-to-work travel time in each of these scenarios would be non-compensable, “ordinary” commute time. The DOL rejected the idea that once an employee performs work at home, any subsequent travel between home and office automatically becomes compensable under the continuous workday doctrine. Instead, the DOL identified three categories of time that commonly occur within the workday but are not compensable hours worked, regardless of where they occur in a workday: 1) bona fide meal periods, 2) off-duty periods, and 3) ordinary home-to-work commuting. The opinion emphasized the longstanding principle that time is work if it is spent predominantly for the employer's b” MORE >>

Source: Littler

The CDC is seeking public comment on a generic clearance for customer surveys by the National Center for Health Statistics, intended to assess agency products and services. MORE >>

Source: Federal Register

“Under the ACA, employer-sponsored minimum essential coverage (MEC) is affordable if an employee’s required contribution for the lowest-cost, self-only option with minimum value does not exceed an annually indexed percentage of the employee’s household income.” MORE >>

Source: Mercer

The FDA issued final guidance for cancer clinical trials, recommending appropriate laboratory values as eligibility criteria to avoid unjustified exclusions of participants. This aims to broaden access to investigational cancer drugs. MORE >>

Source: Federal Register

“The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions was forced to delay its vote to advance the nomination of Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling to be the long-term secretary due to a lack of attendance.” MORE >>

Source: PLANSPONSOR

“The EEOC has now taken the next step: on July 21, 2026, it issued a proposed rule that would rescind regulations requiring EEO-1 and other workforce demographic reports. For private employers, the key takeaway is that this remains only a proposal. Current EEO-1 obligations are still in place unless and until a final rule says otherwise. Employers should therefore continue current compliance efforts and avoid making immediate changes to demographic data collection or recordkeeping practices based solely on this development.” MORE >>

Source: Foley & Lardner

“The rule pitched Wednesday would make it easier for group health plans regulated by ERISA to share mandatory notices with their members. A DOL official called the proposal a “big step forward.” First published on DOL estimates the proposal could save insurers $3.9 billion over a decade by lowering the costs of printing and sending paper disclosures to their members. Group health plans currently print and mail up to 11 billion sheets of paper each year, regulators said. Moving to e-delivery will also more convenient and secure for beneficiaries, according to DOL, though people can still request to receive their disclosures physically if they prefer. It’s “a win for participants and beneficiar” MORE >>

Source: HR Dive

“The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has continued to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 2026, while also seeking to dismiss certain high-profile FCPA prosecutions that began before the second Trump administration.” MORE >>

Source: Arnold & Porter

“On July 21, 2026, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2026-26 to index the contribution percentage in 2027 for determining the affordability of an employer’s health plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For plan years beginning in 2027, employer-sponsored coverage will be considered affordable under the ACA’s “pay or play” rules if the employee’s required contribution for self-only coverage does not exceed 10.22% of their household income for the year. The ACA’s pay or play rules require applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer affordable, minimum-value health coverage to their full-time employees (and dependents) or risk paying a penalty.” MORE >>

Source: hylant.com

“Under the HSR Act, mergers and other transactions above certain financial thresholds must be reported to the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) before closing. If either agency identifies potential competition concerns, it may issue a “second request” — a formal demand for additional documents and information — that typically adds months to deal timelines and imposes significant compliance costs. Prior to the Biden administration, the DOJ and the FTC routinely executed targeted second request investigations, entering into timing agreements with merging parties that prioritized the submission of information most relevant to the agencies’ competitive concerns. After reviewing this prio” MORE >>

Source: Faegre Drinker