Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Senior citizens — those 65 and older — aren’t just sitting around in their rocking chairs. More and more, they are making up a vital part of the workforce. Here are some statistics about Americans age 65 and older from the U.S. Census Bureau. There were 37.3 million people 65 and older in the United […]
Which is worst for a participant’s 401(k) savings: (a) plan loan defaults; (b) hardship withdrawals; or (c) cashouts upon job change? It turns out to be (c), especially for young employees and about one-fifth of those in the lowest income quartile, the Employee Benefit Research Institute concluded in a new analysis. The effect from the […]
How the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will identify benchmark plans that would set the standard for essential health benefits under health reform was described in a final rule issued July 23. This is important because policies sold on health insurance exchanges — for individuals and for small groups — must cover the […]
by Mark I. Schickman People often complain that California employment law is bizarre. My colleagues around the country call our judges “fruits and nuts.” To the contrary, however, while our legislature is farther left than most states’ legislatures and our juries are more profligate than most, our appellate courts are relatively centrist. The award for […]
The new season of The Office starts Thursday. The first episode is entitled “Weight Loss,” and the promo features Michael in some sort of fat suit. I can already see we’re going to have some issues. On the bright side, Michael and the new HR gal Holly are apparently going to continue developing their friendly […]
Changes to overtime rules have been in place since 2004 , yet employers are getting tripped up for big-dollar lawsuits with increasing frequency. What’s up with that? Just a few examples from recent headlines: • McLand, a wholesale distributor of food and grocery products, pays $1.5 million in overtime to “retail merchandising specialists.” • Allied […]
Talent Management We’ve talked a lot about job loss. With U.S. companies slashing nearly 600,000 jobs in January, it has been top of mind for most of us. Here’s the upside in what is an otherwise very dismal situation. Layoffs can give a company the opportunity to cull its lowest performers, resulting in a leaner, […]
By Isabelle Dongier Foreign workers can be an important source of labor for Canadian employers, permitting them to fill shortages in a variety of professions and industries. In an attempt to better protect vulnerable foreign workers from what the government has called unscrupulous employers and agents, the Canadian government will introduce a new regime for […]
Sometimes an unemployment claim can come from out of the blue. And if the worker who files it was improperly classified as an independent contractor, it could trigger an audit—leaving you open to having to pay back payroll taxes and penalties. We’ll look at a new ruling that involved a moonlighting worker who filed for […]
[Part 1 of this article appeared in yesterday’s edition.] Typically, organizations will use an LMS (learning management system) to manage their learning content and employee profiles, among other things. The type of LMS your organization will require will depend on its size and needs.