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Counter Offers–Does the Bad Outweigh the Good?

Bob, a valuable employee, has just resigned! What can we do? A counteroffer is always an option, but should you or shouldn’t you? Caution, says consultant Chuck Csizmar CCP; you may succeed, but you may not like the result. It’s important to recognize that if you’re considering a counteroffer, it means that you missed the […]

Mass Audit Notices from ICE Evidence of New Immigration Tactic

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is calling its decision to audit hiring records at 652 businesses nationwide a “bold, new audit initiative” that utilizes inspections as one of the most powerful tools the federal government has to enforce employment and immigration laws. ICE issued Notices of Inspection to the 652 employers on July 1 […]

Rutgers lesson: Don’t double dribble your way through key decisions

by Michael P. Maslanka With the Final Four on Saturday and the NCAA national championship game on Monday night, basketball has been much in the news. And not far behind those stories is the unfolding saga of the Rutgers basketball program. Two articles by  The  New York Times writers Kate Zernike and Steve Eder, “Rutgers Tries […]

DOL Clarifies E-Delivery of Participant Fee Disclosures

It’s important to disclose information through ERISA-required documents properly: it can be a plan administrator’s last line of defense if participants allege that they suffered losses because they didn’t know their rights or important plan terms. That obligation has  grown in response to the financial scandals of the last decade (Enron, WorldCom, mortgage-leveraged bonds, etc.). […]

How the Senate Health Care Bill Could Bury Employers in Paperwork

Employers may need to prepare for an avalanche of paperwork if the U.S. Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) passes Congress in its current form (or a similar form). The comprehensive 2,074-page health care reform bill, if passed, would impose many additional burdens on employers. Changes to Health Plans Employers would be […]

Train Without the Pain!

Readers: See special survey invitation at bottom. To train supervisors in HR, you need a well-prepared, tightly structured prepared program. We’ve found one … and it’s got time codes! Several recent Advisor articles have pointed to the line supervisor as the key link in your HR compliance chain. Unfortunately, that same supervisor may also be […]

Lumber Company Settles DOL Allegations of ACA, ERISA Violations

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).

May the enforceability of your release be with you

by Hannah Roskey We have all been faced with employees’ buyer’s remorse. They accept a severance package, sign a release, cash the severance check, and then claim that the release is unenforceable. Recently the Alberta Human Rights Commission considered this very issue in Marquardt v. Strathcona County.

Hassle-free border crossings: What to do before U.S. national makes application at Canadian port of entry

by Gilda Villaran In 2015, a number of changes were announced to the procedures at Canadian ports of entry. Unfortunately, there continues to be a lack of awareness about these changes on the part of many U.S. companies that occasionally assign employees to work in Canada. As a result, some companies have been caught off […]

Train Supervisors and Managers in the 10 Areas Most Likely to Attract Lawsuits

A single BLR PowerPoint® program includes 10 separate presentations in the areas most likely to cause legal troubles. If yesterday’s article offering a “termination primer” said anything, it pointed out the importance of training managers and supervisors in how much classic principles like “employment at will” have been modified by a society in which “sue […]