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FMLA’s Special Rules Favor Unmarried Parents

FMLA has special rules for unmarried parents, and also for married parents working for the same employers. Today’s Advisor clarifies the sometimes tricky rules, rules that in one case actually favor unmarried parents. Married or Unmarried The FMLA regulations are very clear that male employees are entitled to FMLA caregiving leave only when their wives […]

Practice Tip — Keep Four Key Elements of the FLSA in Mind: Faith, Liability, Statute of Limitations and Anti-Retaliation

The broad scope of the Fair Labor Standards Act provides seemingly endless opportunities for debate. The fact that the Supreme Court agreed to hear Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. later this year (a case out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit involving worker classification) on the heels of its ruling in […]

‘Occasionally’ Providing Meals to Employees — What Does it Mean for Employer Tax Compliance?

How can an employer best determine whether employer-provided meals qualify as de minimis fringe benefits under the federal tax code? The employer must take into account how frequently the meals or meal money are provided, either on an employee-by-employee basis, or on the basis of the work force as a whole. Then, how should an […]

HHS Delays HIPAA Deadline for ICD-10 Code Sets

Citing concerns from health care providers, federal regulators are delaying the compliance deadline for HIPAA’s ICD-10 code set rules, which had been scheduled for Oct. 1, 2013, the agency announced Feb. 16. “We have heard from many in the provider community who have concerns about the administrative burdens they face in the years ahead,” said […]

5 Principles to Establish a Pay-for-Performance System

In a BLR webinar titled “Pay-for-Performance: Pros, Cons, and Assessing Whether It’s a Good Fit for Your Organization,” Brooke Green offered five key principles to follow when establishing such a system. 5 Principles to Establish a Pay-for-Performance System How do you establish a system of rewards that truly differentiates in a meaningful way? Green outlined […]

Steps You Can Take To Prevent Workplace Violence

Workplace violence can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide, one of the leading causes of job-related deaths. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of violence in your workplace.

Nervous (About) Nellie

Litigation Value:  $100,000 – perhaps more if Todd Packer sleeps his way to a VP position. All sorts of sexual shenanigans occur throughout tonight’s episode, “Tallahassee.” Most of the action takes place in the aforementioned capital city of Florida, where Dwight, Jim, Stanley, Ryan, Erin, and Kathy are attending a meeting regarding Sabre’s plan to […]

Compulsive Gambler Bets on FMLA Leave and Loses

by Michael E. Barnsback Jonathan Mook (one of our intrepid Virginia Employment Law Letter editors) and I recently taught a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Master Class. As with all of our FMLA classes, the major concern among the participants was how to curb abuse and prevent claims. One of the recent cases we […]

Survey Says: Health Costs Boggle, But Employers Won’t Cut Coverage

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Nearly 70 percent of respondents to a recent BLR/HRHero survey on health insurance benefits said they expect their health insurance costs to rise in 2012, but an equal number believe that health insurance is too important a part of the compensation package to consider eliminating it. […]

IRS Providing Interim 403(b) Plan Document Relief

The IRS is promising that changes to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System program are coming soon, and those changes will provide a way to correct plan document errors. The IRS has also proposed a “remedial amendment period” for 403(b) plans, as part of its proposed 403(b) prototype program, which will allow employers to retroactively […]