Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
With the new year upon us, now is a good time to sit down and evaluate your pay grades, and pay-for-performance systems. Base pay grades aren’t a “set and forget” kind of thing. Employee salaries are fluid and always evolving. To remain competitive, base pay grades must be reviewed and adjusted periodically to keep track […]
Several months ago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final regulation mandating the steps employers must take to verify an employee’s Social Security number (SSN) when the employer receives a “no-match” letter from the DHS or the Social Security Administration. The rule specified that employers would be required to fire employees–or face government […]
Our healthcare premiums have gone through the roof (whose haven’t?), and management is putting pressure on me to get the costs down. They think we can have an impact by establishing health criteria to screen out applicants who will be likely to have high health bills, e.g., smokers, those who are overweight and/or have high […]
In an important new development, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that when fiduciary misconduct diminishes the value of an individual account in a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), the harmed employee can sue for damages. In the past, courts have taken the contrary position that the federal employee benefits law only […]
In a recent article for our premium service, California Employer Advisor, we offered 11 tips for employers to limit liability when hosting a company holiday party. In this post, we offer you 3 of those tips to keep your event sane and safe and liability-free.
In the most familiar type of workplace bias lawsuit, the employee charges that the employer had a discriminatory motive. Butin disparate impact cases, the employee claims that an apparently neutral policy or practice of the employer disproportionately hurt employees in a protected class, even though there was no intent to discriminate. A new California appeal […]
After hearing concerns from the retirement plan industry, the IRS issued modifications on March 25 to its pre-approved program for 403(b) plans, in Revenue Procedure 2014-28. These welcome changes will provide another year — until April 30, 2015 — to apply for the program and will increase the number of entities that can take advantage […]
Recent court rulings have emphasized the importance of having an easy and reliable procedure for reporting sexual harassment incidents. In fact, in many cases, the terms of your sexual harassment policy can make the difference between avoiding liability-or paying huge damages. But in an evolving aspect of the law, a surprising new federal appeals court […]
Last Friday, we launched our annual HR Technology Survey, and thank you to all who have participated thus far! For those who have yet to respond, it’s not too late—we’re eager to hear your opinions on how technology and software are drastically changing the way things are done in HR.