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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 […]
These days, you can’t open a newspaper or read an article online without hearing about the current talent shortage. In 2017, the unemployment rate hit a 17-year low of 4.1% in the fourth quarter. While this is good news for jobseekers, it has created big challenges for businesses that are trying to attract new talent. A […]
Retirement plan sponsors that have agreements with service providers should be aware of a recent appellate court decision that absolved such providers of fiduciary duty — if a plan trustee exercised final control over the terms of their agreement. Background In Santomenno v. John Hancock Life Insurance Co., 2014 WL 4783665 (3rd Cir. Sept. 26, […]
Shortly after the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 eased the conversion of defined contribution plan balances into after-tax Roth accounts, many employers indicated they were very or somewhat likely to add the in-plan Roth 401(k) conversion options the act created as a new federal revenue source. Global human resources consultant Aon Hewitt conducted a […]
Preliminary workplace fatality statistics for 2014 were recently released by California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)—and they reflect a 16% decrease in workplace fatalities from the previous year. This is encouraging when compared with the preliminary data for the whole United States, which shows an increase of 2%.
How do you craft a social media policy and internet use policy that helps to maintain your business image and reputation, your right to duty of loyalty, and your right to privacy without infringing upon your employees’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression? How specific do you need to be in your employee handbooks […]
By Rosalind H. Cooper In most provinces across Canada, occupational health and safety legislation requires that employers and other workplace parties report injuries and incidents to the appropriate government ministry. While most reporting requirements relate to workplace injuries, there are also requirements to report certain types of incidents regardless of whether there is an associated […]
IRS issued final regulations requiring employer retirement plan sponsors or administrators that file at least 250 returns in a calendar year to submit Form 5500 annual reports and other plan-related documents electronically. The regulations are effective Sept. 29, and apply for plan years that begin on or after Jan. 1, 2014, and have a filing […]
Think you have completed your investigation because you’ve interviewed your witnesses? Not so fast–there’s a lot more to do. Attorney Walter Stella, a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP, talked about the pitfalls of investigations during a SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. After the […]