Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Yesterday’s Advisor warned of potential legal hassles for wellness programs under HIPAA and NLRA; today, threats from GINA and the states, plus an introduction to the popular wellness guide that will help your program achieve best practice ROIs. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) GINA (which prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect […]
The number of Fair Labor Standards Act civil lawsuits filed in 2011 declined 7.2 percent, according to a recent report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In all, 6,335 FLSA cases were commenced in district courts nationwide during the 12-month period ended Sept. 30, 2011, down from 6,825 during the same period in […]
Because styles and new thinking about what’s acceptable attire in the workplace are ever changing, HR professionals continue to struggle with dress codes. Expectations of professional appearance differ among, and even, within professions. Some HR pros have found that allowing supervisors or department heads the ability to establish and enforce dress codes works better than […]
Wellness programs—win-win and no legal hassles, right? Actually, there are a number of legal pitfalls awaiting the unwary wellness manager. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Internal Revenue Code, and the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act (GINA) all have requirements that bear on wellness programs. […]
Same-sex marriage is not legal in Rhode Island, but employers there must make provision for employees’ same-sex spouses nonetheless. Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) on May 14 signed an executive order announcing that Rhode Island will recognize the validity of same-sex marriages entered into in states where it is legal. The executive order went into effect […]
Although the Supreme Court will soon decide whether pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) may qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “outside sales” exemption from overtime pay, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in early May that PSRs could be exempt from the FLSA under the law’s “administrative exemption” (Schaefer La-Rose v. Eli Lilly […]
A set of safe harbors related to the enforcement of summaries of benefits and coverage (SBCs), which insurers and plan sponsors must distribute as part of health care reform, was issued May 11 by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The DOL/EBSA guidance creates regulatory exceptions for situations where insurers […]
Foes of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) rule to shorten the process required to hold a union representation election scored a win when a court invalidated the rule on May 14, but the final outcome of the fight isn’t yet clear. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the NLRB […]
Take the 2012-2013 pay budget survey now. For years, BLR has surveyed HR, compensation, and benefits professionals to get an accurate gauge of pay budget planning. We want to find out how companies like yours are planning for compensation this year and next. Please help by filling out our brief survey; we’ll share the results […]
