Author: jessica

New COBRA Notices You Must Use by 2/17

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was enacted in February 2009. Among other things, the ARRA provides a COBRA premium subsidy for employees who are laid off or terminated. The subsidy requires employers to pay for 65 percent of a separated employee’s COBRA premium, which the federal government then reimburses to employers.

Survey: 80% of Employers Have Maintained 401(k) Benefits

A survey of compensation and HR professionals indicates that 80% of employers have maintained their matching contributions to employee 401(k) plans throughout the recession. What’s more, of the organizations that suspended their match, half say they will consider reinstating it this year. Those are just two of the significant findings revealed by the survey, the […]

3 Keys to Avoiding Hiring Hassles—Train, Train, Train

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered legal issues related to contact management, or how to avoid turning “contacts” into “applicants,” courtesy of Peopleclick ® Research Institute’s Lisa D. Grant Harpe. Today, we’ll cover the rest of her discussion and take a look at a unique training system for supervisors and managers. Harpe, an industrial psychologist and […]

Contact Management: Pathway to Litigation?

Contact management seems like a no-brainer—maintain contact with promising candidates for whom you have no current opening—but there’s a legal line you don’t want to cross, says Peopleclick’s Lisa D. Grant Harpe. Harpe, an industrial psychologist and senior consultant at the Peopleclick® Research Institute, is the author of Peopleclick’s e-book, Using Contact Management in Compliance […]

FMLA-FLSA-ERISA: Another Bermuda Triangle?

In yesterday’s Advisor, we entered the Bermuda Triangle of HR—the dangerous waters where the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) intersect. Today, we’ll see what the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) have to do […]

The 3-Legged Dance of FMLA, PDA, and COBRA

Much has been written about the Bermuda Triangle of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), but that’s not the only triangle that makes FMLA compliance tricky. Compliance gets even murkier when the ramifications of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), ADA, and […]

2 Tricky Challenges: FMLA Bonding and Fetal Protection

Pregnant employees typically present a host of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) issues, and then, for many employers, there’s the very tricky balancing act of fetal protection—what to do when the mother wants to work in a job that might endanger the unborn child. FMLA Protection for Pregnant Employees Under FMLA, incapacity because of […]