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Health Care Reform Gives Employer Wellness Programs a Boost — But Be Careful

by  Susan Fahey Desmond Well, here it is — the Health Care Reform and Control Act. Beginning January 1, 2014, every individual will be required to have “minimum essential coverage” through individual market, employer-provided or certain other coverage (e.g., Medicare or CHIP).  Also, beginning January 12, 2014, any employer who employed an average of 50 […]

HOT LIST: BusinessWeek’s Bestseller List

BusinessWeek ranks business books that are the most recent bestsellers and provides a short summary. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel that you are both a person who gets […]

Companies Take Steps to Counteract Labor Shortages

As labor markets continue to tighten, companies are pursuing additional strategies for recruiting untapped talent and retaining workers. So finds a new report by The Conference Board, a global business membership and research association.

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 […]

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 […]

Discrimination: FedEx Enters Massive Race Bias Settlement

FedEx Corp. has agreed to pay out $53.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit charging that the company’s express delivery unit, FedEx Express, discriminated against African-American and Latino workers. The settlement, which is believed to be among the 10 most expensive discrimination settlements in U.S. history, affects about 20,000 employees in the company’s Western […]

EEOC Develops Best Practices Against Caregiver Discrimination

On April 22, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) offered employers new guidance and best practices on avoiding discrimination against workers with caregiving responsibilities. The best practices document is available online at www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiver-best-practices.html and illustrates proactive measures employers can take that go beyond federal non-discrimination requirements. It supplements a 2007 EEOC guidance document on unlawful […]

More human rights ‘frustrations’

by David G. Wong Traditionally, when an employee’s absenteeism was excessive and there was no reasonable prospect of  returning to work in the foreseeable future—as long as there was no contractual term providing otherwise—a Canadian employer could discharge the employee for non-culpable absenteeism or treat the employment contract as having been frustrated. This would bring […]