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Changes to IRS’ EPCRS Focus on Auto-features

The second round of revisions to IRS’ Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System in a week focused on failures in automatic enrollment and escalation in defined contribution retirement plans. The procedural changes from the agency also addressed DC plans’ automatic employee contribution features that experience short-term elective-deferral failures. The procedural changes in Revenue Procedure 2015-28 were released […]

Technology Can Help Employees Keep Their Health-Related New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of year again when employees make resolutions to be a better—and healthier—person in the New Year by changing some of their behavior. According to a recent Marist Poll, health-related resolutions ranked at the top with respondents, including losing weight, exercising more, quitting smoking, improving overall health, and eating healthier foods.

Employers May Be Eligible for Tax Break Under HIRE Act

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (H.R. 2847), a jobs bill President Barack Obama signed into law on March 18, 2010, provides tax breaks to employers that hire unemployed workers or individuals who were only working part-time in 2010. Under the HIRE Act, qualified employers could receive a payroll tax incentive and a […]

Readers Take Offense over ‘Commitment’ Column

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR CEO Bob Brady’s “Commitment” column generated some surprisingly strong backlash. Here’s his response. In last week’s column I wrote about “commitment” in the workplace and tried to make a joking comparison about male-female relationships. My offhand attempt at humor backfired and provoked a mini-controversy. In the column, […]

How Do You Decorate?

Have you ever had a coworker who just loved to decorate the workspace? How did they decorate their space? Typically it’s sports paraphernalia, travel memorabilia, kids’ drawings, etc., but a few take it a bit further. In a recent survey, The Creative Group asked advertising and marketing executives to describe the strangest or most surprising […]

DoD to Begin Extending Employee Benefits to Same-sex Partners

Some employee benefits such as child care and transportation benefits are soon to be offered to the same-sex domestic partners of military members, U.S. Department of Defense recently announced. Outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta indicated in Feb. 11 memo that the move was a step toward conferring benefits to same-sex partners that currently are only […]

Vancouver 2010: Are You Prepared?

By Katie Clayton and Farrah Sunderani With the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games having just begun, there will be several implications on the workplace. Past Olympic cities have reported high levels of absenteeism – both approved and unapproved – for employees wishing to attend the events, partake in the activities, or volunteer. Employers […]

Managing Sexual Harassment Backlash: Employer Dodges Alleged Harasser’s Suit; Four Practical Strategies

As employers are finding out all too often, getting tough and firing employees who harass other workers can bring on another big headache-a wrongful termination lawsuit. Although the California Supreme Court addressed this troublesome issue earlier this year, it’s been unclear exactly what steps you should take to protect yourself from being sued by an […]