Most Popular

Mental Health Parity Rules Remove ‘Clinically Appropriate’ Exemption

Final mental health parity rules issued Nov. 8 make several changes to the prior, interim version. The exemption for “clinically appropriate standards of care” was eliminated because regulators decided it was confusing and subject to abuse, and the rules’ application to “intermediate” coverage levels was clarified in response to uncertainty about how the interim rules’ […]

Workplace Discipline Done Right: What Your Managers Need to Learn

You might think the law’s behind you when you discipline workers, but human factors can change the equation. Employment-at will is a bedrock concept of American business, allowing employers, with few exceptions, to fire anyone, at any time, for any legal reason. No documentation is legally required. But take that concept too literally and you […]

Ask the Expert: We have an intern who has worked with our company for over 2 years. Are we subject to any liability by not including the intern in our benefits?

September 08, 2010 Issues with interns usually revolve around whether or not they are paid. Therefore, the DOL has created rules on this topic. I will provide them to you, even though they do not answer your question exactly, because they will allow you to see that if the intern has been working for you […]

Form I-9 Remains Valid Beyond June 30, 2009

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today (June 26) that the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) currently on the USCIS website will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009. The agency has requested that the Office of Management and Budget approve the continued use of the current  Form I-9. […]

Tales from the healthcare exchange portal

by Jason Lacey On October 1, we reached a big milestone for the implementation of healthcare reform: the opening of the public insurance exchanges. OK, so the day was largely symbolic, and nothing really took effect. It just happened to be the first day we could take a look at what’s available through these new […]

North Dakota employers need to be ready for new smoking law

by Lisa Edison-Smith North Dakota employers need to take steps to comply with a new antismoking law that will take effect on December 6, 2012. On November 6, voters approved Measure 4 by a 2-1 margin. The law “prohibit[s] smoking, including the use of electronic smoking devices, in public places and most places of employment […]

Wage And Hour: Correcting Docking Mistakes Can Salvage Exempt Status

Even if you’ve correctly classified an employee as exempt from overtime, you can jeopardize the person’s status by improperly docking their pay or otherwise treating the worker as an hourly employee. And mistakes can be costly, requiring you to pay past and future overtime. But there is a little-known special provision in federal law that […]

Hot List: Bestselling “Business Life” Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, June 6, in the “Business Life” section of the “Business and Investing” category. 1. Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life by Richard Paul and and Linda […]

Recruiting Gurus: It’s the Year of the Passive Candidate

When HR managers at the recent SHRM conference in Chicago were asked what their most challenging problem is, virtually all responded, “Finding and keeping good people.” How can you locate and hold on to top performers in a tricky economy with a diminishing number of qualified candidates? Many experts suggest that so-called “passive” candidates are […]