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Verizon Pension Buyout Not Illegal, 5th Circuit Rules

A federal appellate court affirmed the legality of Verizon Communications Inc.’s 2012 decision to offload more than $7 billion in pension obligations, in a ruling that lent further support for popular pension derisking measures. In Lee. v. Verizon, 2015 WL 4880972 (5th Cir., Aug. 17, 2015), two classes of plaintiffs — retirees whose benefits management […]

rejection

RecruitCon2018 Speaker Offers 3 Tips for Politely Rejecting Job Applicants

You’ve spent countless hours poring over résumés and interviewing job candidates. You’ve finally found the perfect fit, so you offer that person the job. But now it’s time to let the other candidates know they were not accepted. Here comes the hardest part of the hiring process: rejection.

Could You Use 9 Best Practices for Your Safety Training?

Training is a vital part of your safety program, it may be required by specific standards that apply to your workplace, and it can provide a natural environment for communication between management and employees about safety and health issues. But not all safety training will accomplish these ends. Badly planned, poorly executed training may do […]

Plan a holiday party that makes merry and avoids ghosts of revelries past

Everybody’s heard the office party horror stories—some merrymakers get drunk, unfortunate comments are made, even more unfortunate outfits are worn, and sometimes somebody even gets hurt. It’s enough to make the human resources department want to retreat to the North Pole until mid-January.  Solutions to party woes do exist, however, and even if the party […]

SCOTUS Asks Where to Draw the Line on FLSA Definition of ‘Clothes’

Spectators could be excused for confusing a recent U.S. Supreme Court oral argument session with an episode of TLC’s What Not to Wear. On Nov. 4, the Court heard arguments in Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp.(No. 12-417) which focused on how to define “clothes” versus protective equipment and whether time spent donning those items is compensable. The […]

Finding Market Data for Elusive Jobs

Trying to find market data for some jobs may seem a little like searching for a needle in a haystack—tedious, time-consuming, and marginally successful. Often, the problem isn’t that no data are available but in how we’re look for them, says BLR’s Senior Compensation Editor Sharon McKnight, CCP, SPHR.

Taxes: IRS Raises Mileage Reimbursement Rates for 2007

The IRS has increased the standard mileage rate commonly used to reimburse employees for business use of a car to 48.5 cents per mile, up from 44.5 cents in 2006. The new rate will apply to miles driven beginning January 1, 2007. Employers who use the IRS standard mileage rate to reimburse employees may deduct […]