Most Popular

Annual Waiver Requirement for HRAs? No Sweat for Some!

If you offer your employees health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), you know better than I that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) increased your administrative duties. But there’s good news, at least for some of you! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a reminder that HRAs established […]

EEOC Releases Proposed GINA Regulations

On March 2, 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) officially released the proposed regulations under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). GINA is intended to protect employees from discrimination by employers, employment agencies, labor unions, and insurers based on genetic information. The proposed regulations are designed to implement and provide further guidance […]

EEOC Proposes Using EEO-1 Report to Collect Pay Data

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor recently published a proposal to revise the EEO-1 reporting form in order to annually collect summary pay data by gender, race, and ethnicity from businesses with 100 or more employees. A copy of the proposed form is available on the EEOC’s website.

Seattle employers should be ready for new background check law

by Amy Kunkel-Patterson Seattle’s new law restricting the use of criminal background checks takes effect November 1. The Job Assistance Ordinance prohibits employers from requiring applicants to disclose arrest or conviction records as part of initial job applications. It also restricts how employers may use arrest and conviction records that eventually are disclosed. A number […]

9th Circuit Reverses Ruling on Participant’s Claim for Surcharge

Plan participants can recover personal, rather than plan, losses under arguments of “surcharge,” the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled, reversing an earlier opinion, which had been at odds with other federal circuits. On Dec. 16, the circuit court handed down the new ruling in Gabriel v. Alaska Elec. Pension Fund, 2014 WL 7139686 (9th […]

OSHA urges employers to think crowd control for Black Friday

As shoppers plan their Black Friday bargain hunting, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is urging retail employers to plan their crowd-control measures to keep workers safe. In 2008, a worker was trampled to death while a crowd of shoppers rushed the doors of a Wal-Mart store in New York. OSHA recommends that retailers […]

No Issue Goes Unresolved …

By Dan Moran Just My E-pinion People are, I think by design, procrastinators. Why do today what you can do tomorrow? In part I think this has lead to a practice by managers of people — and some HR professionals as well: Let it be, the issue will go away… I am amazed how often […]

Why Compliance Matters in Global Hiring and International Workforce Expansion

Global expansion often begins with a bold decision in the boardroom, then lands squarely on the desk of HR. Executive teams set the pace, seeking new markets and top international talent, and HR is expected to move fast. But moving fast without compliance isn’t growth. It’s risk. What happens next can determine whether a company’s […]

Connecting Members and Data Promises to Reduce Costs

Tremendous cost-cutting and patient care improvements await insurers and plans that can leverage the recent gains of computing to improve patient self-management of care. The challenge is how to tap the big pools of data, and get “actionable” personalized results out to plan members so they can choose better, cheaper care and manage this care […]

Workplace Scheduling: Daily Overtime Scrapped; Other Revolutionary Changes May Be On The Way

Major changes are in the pipeline that could dramatically alter how California works. First, in a historic development, daily overtime for most workers may be eliminated. And other proposals are under consideration on such important issues as comp time, alternative workweeks and family leave. Here are the details, along with how they might affect you.