Archives

More Investment Advice from Fiduciaries Deemed Trustworthy by DOL

Retirement plan investors will save between $5 billion and $13 billion annually, thanks to new exceptions to DOL’s prohibited transaction rules, DOL estimates. The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) opened the door to allowing fiduciaries to offer investment advice in a final rule published to become effective Dec. 27, 2011. DOL estimates this new rule […]

Dependent Coverage Won’t Explode Military Health Expenses

Health reform’s expansion of dependent health coverage may not have a profound effect on expenses in the Dept. of Defense (DoD)’s TRICARE program, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study. Background Employees’ dependents can be covered by their parents’ employer-provided insurance up to age 26 under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). […]

Candidate’s COBRA Premium Kerfuffle Points Out Differing Employer Practices

Employers have different ways of administering COBRA continuation coverage, as evident in a recent news article about a local candidate’s problem when he was found to owe a city government money after it paid some of his COBRA premiums. The Post-Standard reported Oct. 27 how Timothy Lattimore (R), former mayor of Auburn, N.Y. , elected […]

No Room for FLSA Abuses at Hilton

A Hilton subsidiary has agreed to pay more than $715,000 in back wages to 2,645 workers in four states. The agreement comes in the wake of a Labor Department investigation into the handling of payment for work done before the start of a shift. Nonpayment of pre-shift work at heart of DOL investigation Hilton “profited […]

California Law Does Heavy Lifting for Nurses

Health care employers in California are now required to accommodate nurses who have lifting restrictions. In other states, nurses must prove that they have a disability covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to receive an accommodation. The new law means California nurses may now decline to participate in a patient lift, reposition or […]

Domestic Partner Benefits? 45% Offer or Plan to Offer (Survey Results)

However, 53% of organizations do not offer domestic partner benefits at all, and have no plans to do so. Of the 93% percent of respondents that offer spousal benefits to benefit-eligible U.S. employees, a little over half (55%) offer these benefits to different-sex spouses only. The Spousal and Domestic Partner Benefits survey, conducted in September […]

That Fevered Night

Litigation Value: Not much on the employment law front. But, for many of our readers in Central Daylight Time (you know who you are), the goings-on during — and especially after — the most recent airing of The Office might have given rise to at least the kernel of an emotional distress claim. Allow this week’s […]

Free Report for HR Managers: Win the Recruiting War!

The HR Daily Advisor announced today the release of a new free report, Win the Recruiting War!, which will help HR Managers to develop a recruiting strategy to find and retain talented employees. The exclusive 36-page special report includes sections on workforce analysis and job descriptions, tips for online ads, how to make a referral […]

Domestic Partner Benefits? 45% Offer or Plan to Offer (Survey Results)

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Thirty-eight percent of participants in our recent survey of spousal and domestic partner benefits offer domestic partner benefits to at least some employees, and an additional 7 percent plan to offer such benefits at some point in the future. However, 53% of organizations do not offer […]

Dangers of Excluding Unemployed When Searching for Workers

By Reggie Gay Employers that need workers often find themselves inundated with applicants — especially in today’s down economy. Some employers have even resorted to limiting the applicant pool to currently employed individuals as a way of dealing with a deluge of resumes. But that can be a legally shaky strategy. Mastering HR Special Reports: […]