Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Alas, repeats. My able colleague, Jaclyn West, wrote about this week’s episode — The Chump — in her excellent post of May 14. But fear not. There is big news this week that demands its own post. NBC has confirmed that Steve Carell will leave The Office when his contract expires in 2011. Michael Scott’s seven-year reign as Scranton […]
Fiduciaries of a major Western lumber producer’s group health plan have agreed to settle the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) allegations that the plan violated claims procedure and other requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Many companies are staying put at their current employment levels (40%) or adding only 1-4 jobs (30%) in the last half of 2010, according to results of the Hiring 2010 HR Hero Line survey. Fewer than 15% of the respondents are planning to reduce staffs. Companies that are adding jobs cited a variety of reasons, […]
Employers struggling to decode the service provider fee disclosures from their retirement plans may be getting some relief. Nearly two years after the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposed rule requiring covered service providers to disclose the cost of what they do for employer-sponsored 401(k)s, the agency is requesting more help for plan sponsors […]
By: Beth A. Kahn and Hubert T. Lee Arbitration agreements are popular among California employers, but in many instances the employer has to go to court in order enforce the agreement. Recently, the California Supreme Court upheld an arbitration provision in a sales agreement, even though quite a few of the terms were arguable—but also […]
Telecommuting is attractive to many workers, and it’s no surprise. What is a surprise is how many of them are suing their employers. That’s right, suing. Over wage and hour issues. Over reimbursement of travel costs on days they do have to come in. Even over safety matters. The lawsuits are neither small nor cheap. […]
Health reform’s final essential health benefits rule makes it clear that self-insured and large group health plans do not need to comply with limits on growth in employee cost-sharing, offer all 10 categories of essential health benefits, or meet actuarial minimums like small-group and individual policies. However, the regime explained in the rule is still […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has rejected a lawsuit charging that IBM’s conversion to a cash-balance pension plan violated age discrimination prohibitions in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
By David M. Stevens, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP A business that purchases the assets of another entity is often concerned about whether it will be held liable for the seller’s debts, including any claims involving employees. In a recent case, Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals examined the standard to be applied in determining whether […]