Archives

Court OKs $1.3M Settlement in COBRA/ARRA Class Action

Although it admitted no wrongdoing, an employer and plan administrator agreed to pay a $1.3 million settlement to a group of former employees who alleged they never received COBRA election or premium subsidy information after their involuntary termination of employment in 2010. In addition to COBRA and premium subsidy notice claims, they also sued the […]

DB Plans Can Be Required to Provide COLA to Lump-sum Recipients

With lump-sum retirement distributions gaining favor among employers with defined benefit plans, sponsors should note a decision from a federal district court that supported the right of lump-sum payout recipients to receive a cost-of-living adjustment that is actuarially equivalent to the COLA paid to annuitants. In Pikas v. Williams Cos., District Judge Gregory Frizzell granted […]

Who is it really all about?

by Dan Oswald What’s your favorite subject? For many people it’s me. I don’t mean me; I mean them. To them, me is them. Got it? What I’m trying to say is that often a person’s favorite subject is himself. People want to talk about themselves. People like to think about themselves. People are concerned […]

Exemptions–Can You Define ‘Management,’ ‘Customarily’ and ‘Particular Weight’ ?

Yesterday’s Advisor pondered the issue of how much nonexempt work an exempt employee may do; today, issues around the executive exemption plus an introduction to Managing an HR Department of One. Once again, we turn to BLR/HRHero’s Wage & Hour Self-audit Guide: Practical Solutions for HR for guidance. The DOL’s tests for the executive exemption […]

The 4 Tools for Challenging FMLA Certs

FMLA certifications are certainly one of the most annoying of FMLA challenges, says attorney Drew Alexis. Fortunately, there are four tools available to employers to help with certifications. Alexis, who offered his intermittent leave tips during the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Las Vegas, is with the Kinaga Law Firm in Los Angeles. […]

Train Young Leaders on How to Bridge the Generation Gap

The first two best practices are to give respect to older employees and to leverage their experience to help the team work through tough situations. 3. Be inclusive Once you earn their respect and capitalize on their level of experience, you can begin to shift your attention to making your team members feel included. Since […]

immigration

What bipartisan group’s immigration reform proposal means for employers

by Tammy Binford A bipartisan effort to reform U.S. immigration policy includes what the proposal’s authors say is a plan to “create an effective employment verification system” as well as a way to “establish an improved process for admitting future workers to serve our nation’s workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all workers.” Eight U.S. senators—Republicans […]

CER/PCORI Fees—Get Ready to Fund Health Care Research

What Is the Amount of the Fee? The fee is: • $1 times the average covered lives for policy years ending on or after Oct 1, 2012 and ending before Oct 1, 2013; • $2 for policy years ending on or after October 1, 2013 and before October 1, 2014 • $2 plus an adjustment […]

Are Your Young Leaders Trained to Bridge the Generation Gap?

With more and more large universities and high schools adding degrees in hospitality to their course offerings, it’s clear that the industry is gaining attention from millennials. (A millennial, commonly referred to as Generation Y, is anyone born between the 1980s and early 2000s.) The increase in the number of students graduating with a bachelor’s […]

Your Immediate Action Required: Affordable Care Act 2013

Gillihan, who is Counsel in the Atlanta office of Alston & Bird LLP, made his suggestions at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR/HRHero. Complying with the Women’s Health Preventive Care Requirement First of all, employers should already be complying with women’s health preventive care requirements, in effect January 1 for calendar plan years, says Gillilan. […]