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Oregon employers must prepare for statewide paid sick leave law

by Cal Keith Paid sick leave will be the law in Oregon as of January 1, 2016, now that Governor Kate Brown has signed legislation passed by the state legislature in mid-June. The statewide law mostly mirrors Portland’s sick leave law, which took effect January 1, 2014. It provides that covered employers must allow employees […]

Time for federal contractors to meet new paid leave requirements

by H. Juanita M. Beecher Contractors entering into federal contracts on or after January 1, 2017, must comply with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new regulations requiring them to provide workers 56 hours of paid sick leave a year. The regulations implement President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13706, which was issued on September 7, […]

CLASS Dismissed: Health Reform Law’s LTC Program Tabled

I’ve read how, due to the cost of administering long-term care (LTC) insurance, some private-sector vendors are either revisiting that benefit  or jacking up premiums — partly because not enough people are signing up to sufficiently spread the risk, and costs, around. Well, the federal health reform law included a lofty goal of establishing a […]

Unsupportable Requirements in Job Description Doom Defense

Yesterday’s Advisor detailed job description horror stories. In today’s issue, another story, and an introduction to an extraordinary collection of job descriptions, written for you and ready to go. Unsupportable Requirements in the Job Description You don’t hire Susie for the shipping department job because the job description requires the ability to lift 80 pounds […]

What Changes Lie Ahead in Business Skills Training?

“Skills Mismatch: Business Acumen and Strategy Execution” studies the relationship between business skills and organizations’ ability to execute strategy, the critical skills needed at different levels of leadership, and trends in business skills development through 2018. The survey, which is based on responses from more than 300 senior corporate leaders, was conducted by The Economist […]

Is a COBRA Notice ‘Postcard’ Too Far From the Edge of Compliance?

Postcards are designed to provide a brief message, but it will be interesting to learn if such brevity is sufficient to adequately notify an individual of COBRA continuation coverage rights — particularly when the law identifies at least 14 content requirements for COBRA election notices. In a recent court case, an employer/plan administrator faced with […]

IRS Fleshes Out Plans for Applying ‘Cadillac Tax,’ Seeks Input

New IRS guidance spells out more issues the agency plans to address in imposing the excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage (commonly known as the Cadillac tax). These include: (1) identifying taxpayers who may be liable for the excise tax; (2) aggregating several employers under one plan sponsor’s payment; (3) allocating the tax among […]

Can You Ban Political Discussion? (You Can Try …)

What do you do if your workplace is so politically polarized that workers in the same department can’t have a civil discussion without becoming red-faced and loud-mouthed? In a BusinessWeek article, Bruce Weinstein, PhD., who calls himself “The Ethics Guy,”says that most political issues are by their nature highly divisive. At stake in this year’s […]

Who Is Your Mentor?

“A trusted counselor or guide.”  That’s Webster’s definition of a mentor. Who do you have in your professional life that you can trust for sound counsel and guidance? It’s critical to your success and, likely, your emotional well-being to have people to whom you can turn when you’re struggling, need advice, or just want some […]