Archives

All Quiet on the Transparency Front: Fees Still a Mystery and Hospital Quality Data Spotty

Have you asked your doctor or dentist to see his fee schedule? When I did so once, a dentist refused, saying in effect: “my prices are higher, but that’s what you need to get my quality advantage.” What’s a consumer to do? A similar relation exists between large employers and institutional providers (hospitals.) The lack […]

Paid Leave Rejected by Denver Voters

Employers in Denver need not worry about adding paid sick and “safe” time leave for everyone who works for them at least 40 hours a week – voters rejected the proposal by an almost two-to-one margin Denver’s Ballot Initiative 300 was defeated 66,719 votes (64 percent) to 37,498 (36 percent) Nov. 1. A broad coalition […]

OSHA Seeks Comments on Revised Whistleblower Rules

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is seeking comments on interim final rules that revise the regulations on whistleblower complaints filed under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The whistleblower protection provisions of SOX were amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to clarify that subsidiaries of publicly […]

Employers Warned to Include GINA Disclosure on FMLA Forms (video)

Employers have some new language to include on certain Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms because of the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act (GINA), according to employment law attorney Stacie L. Caraway, who led an FMLA session at the October Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. Caraway says a one-paragraph statement is available on […]

Still More Employment Policy Perils

Yesterday, we looked at 5 potential employment policy perils you want to be sure to avoid. Today, the rest of the dastardly top 10 — plus a California-specific handbooks resource that practically does the work for you.

May I Refuse to Hire a Pregnant Applicant?

Yesterday’s Advisor discussed interviewing candidates with disabilities; today, more on disabilities and pregnancy, plus an introduction to an extraordinary collection of pre-written job descriptions. Pregnancy and the Interview During the interview, do not ask candidates about whether they are pregnant, whether they have any pregnancy plans, or what their plans are for a family. But […]

Getting Answers to Advanced FMLA Questions (video)

Not all Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) questions have clear answers, and that often can put employers in a quandary, according to Bradd N. Siegel, who spoke on the issue at the recent Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. That means employers must understand “where the regulations stop short of giving clear answers […]

Top 10 Potential Perils of Employment Policies

The employee handbook: Probably not the most enjoyable part of your job. It’s even less fun when a judge rules a policy unenforceable for some reason, forcing your company to hand over thousands of dollars to a disgruntled employee or former employee.

Interviewing Candidates with Disabilities—Follow the Guidelines

For everyone who interviews applicants, there is a long list of pitfalls, but surely some of the most challenging and confusing to avoid are those relating to interviewing applicants with disabilities. Determining just what is a disability has always been a challenge, but recent court rulings indicate that the focus should be on the accommodation […]