The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raised several annual threshold and benefit levels for 2018 when it announced them on October 19. Employers and retirement plan administrators can apply the new rates as they prepare their plans for next year and conduct nondiscrimination testing. Notice 2017-64 outlined the latest changes to cost-of-living adjustments for employee benefit plans.

Two recent decisions from the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming—provide new guidance for employers with tipped employees.

Pay equity, parental leave, and criminal history are hot topics that have been grabbing attention for some time, and employers in California now need to prepare for three newly signed laws addressing those issues.