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Workplace computer porn: court rules employees’ privacy rights limit police

by Jennifer Shepherd On October 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued its ruling in R. v. Cole. The court held that a person’s right to be protected against unreasonable searches was breached when the police looked at computer files the employer had given them without first obtaining a search warrant. Facts A […]

Regulations Aimed at Improving Oil Refinery Safety in California

In July, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) announced a landmark set of regulations to strengthen workplace and environmental safety at oil refineries across the state.

Want Benefit Savings? Take a Close Look at Your PBM

Looking for healthcare savings? (Who isn’t?) Start with a look at your prescription drug costs, says Scott Haas, CLU, RHU, vice president of Wells Fargo Pharmacy Consulting. Haas and his colleagues sought a way to get drug costs down for clients. They peered beneath the surface and didn’t like what they found, Haas said in […]

NLRB Proposed Rules Would Streamline Unionization Process, Reducing Employers’ Time to Act

Wednesday’s Federal Register will feature a set of proposed amendments to National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) regulations that, if adopted, could significantly simplify the process wherein workers vote whether to unionize, reducing employers’ time to react to unionization efforts. According to a press release from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the proposed rules would […]

Wellness So Simple Even the C-Suite Can Understand

Wellness! It’s a great-sounding concept, but a little vague—and thus hard to sell to senior management. Today’s expert—an SPHR-certified occupational physician—breaks it down into easy-to-grasp basics. If Time magazine named a “Corporate Buzzword of the Year”, it might well be “wellness.” But what exactly does it mean, and what do you have to do to […]

California employee classification and overtime calculations: Q&A

In a recent CER webinar titled “Exempt v. Non-Exempt in California: How to Evaluate Classifications to Determine If Employees are Entitled to Overtime,” Mark J. Jacobs and Ryan D. Wheeler outlined some guidance for California employers regarding proper employee classifications and correct calculations of overtime pay. They kindly lent their expertise to answer questions from […]

Google

New Google App Teaches Indian Children to Read

Technology has long been a huge catalyst in business and economic advancement. We often think of these advances in the context of efficiencies in production (assembly line and robotics), transportation (railways and automobiles), or communications (telephone, Internet, and video conferencing).

Changes to Forms 5500 Ring in the New, Keep Some of the Old

Preparing employer benefit plans’ annual filings to federal agencies can be detailed and time-consuming. A review of recent changes to the 2014 Form 5500 series indicates this process could become even more laborious for some plans, as the government seeks more data disclosure. The Form 5500 is used by multiple government agencies (the U.S. Department […]

2010 Census Results

The Constitution mandates that the United State’s residents be counted every 10 years to determine the number of seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Census Bureau has begin releasing the results from the 2010 Census, and here are the first strokes in the “new portrait of America” it paints: […]