Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Jennifer Carsen, JD On September 8, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule that would add gender identity protections for individuals enrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplaces and certain other health coverage plans.
On April 22, the Colorado House of Representatives passed legislation regulating stop-loss through minimum attachment points, and requiring stop-loss insurers to give the commissioner information about their self-insuring clients with 100 and fewer full-time equivalents. The bill also would give the insurance commissioner authority to unilaterally raise minimum stop-loss attachment points based on medical price […]
by Gwen Cofield Although an employer or plan administrator is not required to ensure actual receipt of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) notice, a good-faith effort to provide the COBRA notice must be made. Where an administrative error prevents the receipt of the COBRA notice, an employer or plan administrator can demonstrate good-faith […]
Faced with racially motivated workplace killings, reporters from ABC’s Primetime Live sniffing around your facility, and a spate of race discrimination lawsuits, cracking down on racial harassment might be a good thing, right? Maybe so in some utopian world of rationality and logic, but we live and work “down the rabbit hole.” In our world, […]
It’s a familiar lament coming from employers: They struggle to hire people with the skills they need even when jobseekers line up at their doors. The skills gap has been a worry for years, and employers, educators, workers, and government officials have long touted apprenticeship as at least part of the solution. But the concept […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady During the recent recession, many employees saw their jobs change and grow. There may be fewer bodies, but the work still has to get done. In a lot of cases this, means that job descriptions are out of date and inaccurate. They may be fodder for significant lawsuits […]
By Kyla Stott-Jess and Kyle Cadieux An employer in Canada would be forgiven for thinking that a release of liability related to employment would protect it from all future claims by that employee. However, a recent Alberta Human Rights Tribunal decision, Hutton v. ARC Business Solutions Inc., 2015 AHRC 7, suggests that the matter is […]
Executive Compensation Checklist General Do you have a plan for executive compensation? Yes□ No□ Is it in writing? Yes□ No□ Does it have stated goals? Yes□ No□ Do those goals include: Increasing productivity? Yes□ No□ Increasing quality? Yes□ No□ Retaining good employees? Yes□ No□ Attracting good employees? Yes□ No□ Rewarding good […]
Today the Obama administration released final regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). The MHPAEA is designed to make sure mental health and substance use disorder benefits offered by health plans are in parity with the medical and surgical benefits the plans offer. The […]
It’s a great relief to be coming out of the recession, but there are special challenges for employers, says Attorney Matthew Effland. Employees’ expectations and management’s plans may be at odds—and that might turn survivor guilt into survivor anger. Effland, a shareholder at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart’s Indianapolis office, made his remarks at […]