Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Five years ago, in March 2010, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama to resolve problems in the U.S. health system, including: the high number of uninsured Americans; Americans unable to get coverage due to pre-existing conditions; the high cost of care; and suboptimal care as a result of poor incentives […]
Service Requirement – One Week Vacation: What is the service requirement in order for an employee to be eligible for 1 week of vacation? Do not offer Less than 6 months 6 months More than 6 months, but less than a year 1 year More than 1 year Exempt Employees 158 (20.1%) 216 (27.5%) […]
by Sophie E. Zdatny Equal pay for equal work may seem like a no-brainer, but the gender pay gap is still with us almost 50 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act (EPA) in 1963. Nationally, women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office (AG) and […]
By Stefan Kimpton It’s almost election day in Canada. On October 19, Canadians will head to the polls to elect the new federal government. Employers with employees in Canada should be aware of their obligations on election day.
by Judith E. Kramer The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extended the comment period for the proposed rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. Comments will be accepted through October 14. The proposal, published on November 8, 2013, would amend the agency’s record-keeping regulation to add requirements for the electronic […]
Properly classifying someone as either an independent contractor or employee is one of the biggest problems employers have when adhering to FLSA requirements. Do you know when it is okay to classify someone as an independent contractor and when they should be classified as an employee instead? DOL Focus: Independent Contractor or Employee "One of […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR CEO and founder Bob Brady recently wrote about some of the more annoying aspects of meetings and e-mail exchanges, and he asked you to send in your top e-mail annoyances. Boy, did he ever push a hot button! Here is just sampling of the responses we received. […]
Concerns about the effect of lump-sum retiree distributions on the funded status of defined benefit pension plans with ongoing obligations to future beneficiaries were prominent as members of the ERISA Advisory Council tackled issues of “derisking” at a June 5 open meeting at the U.S. Department of Labor. There was high interest in the topic […]
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, […]
Jeffery Akers was a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). He sought a promotion but didn’t get it. Instead, a younger woman was given the position. Akers believed that his age and gender prevented him from getting the promotion, so he filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission […]