Category: HR Management & Compliance

There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.

Farm Trips for Employees Are ‘Life-Changing’

Yesterday we looked at how Keurig Green Mountain strives to be one of the best places to work. One of the ways Keurig Green Mountain boosts engagement is sending employees on “source trips” to coffee-growing nations to see the company’s supply chain for themselves. Employees have described the experience as life-changing. Steve Bruce, host of […]

Trump administration expands exemptions to ACA contraceptive mandate

On October 6, the Trump administration released two interim final rules that will vastly expand the availability of exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) rules requiring employer coverage of contraceptives. The ACA requires employers and insurers that offer group health plans to employees to cover certain approved contraceptive methods—at no additional cost to employees—or […]

age discrimination

7th Circuit: No ADEA Liability for Terminating Retirees Because of Benefit Costs

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—recently decided an interesting and complex case involving allegations of age discrimination. Retirees who continued to work part-time for an Indiana county argued the county violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) when it terminated them to save money on health insurance benefits.

The Latest Business Practice: Relaxing Standards

Maybe you’ve started to notice it at local businesses you frequent. The cashier at the supermarket looks unkempt. The new receptionist at the salon has no customer service skills. You thank the waiter for bringing the check, but he doesn’t thank you.

HRWorks Sits Down with Keurig Green Mountain Coffee

Keurig Green Mountain Coffee, known as a “Best Place to Work,” offers all employees 52 hours each year for volunteer work; plus, the company runs additional companywide volunteerism opportunities. Steve Bruce, host of BLR’s popular podcast, HR Works, recently interviewed three Keurig Green Mountain employees about the volunteer programs. Here’s a transcript:

Transgender

Sessions Memo Changes DOJ Position on Transgender Discrimination

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement changing his department’s position on transgender employment discrimination marks a change in the legal landscape, but it doesn’t alter employer obligations under various state and local laws or the position taken by other federal agencies.

Sessions memo changes DOJ position on transgender discrimination

by Tammy Binford U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement changing his department’s position on transgender employment discrimination marks a change in the legal landscape, but it doesn’t alter employer obligations under various state and local laws or the position taken by other federal agencies. In an October 4 memo to U.S. attorneys titled “Revised Treatment […]

nurse

Dispute Over Job Requirements Defeats Summary Judgment on Disability Discrimination Claim

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently permitted a disabled nurse to proceed to trial on her claim that the termination of her employment constituted disability discrimination. The court based its decision on a factual dispute over the physical requirements of the nurse’s job, her employer’s apparent failure to consider potential accommodations for her disability, and […]