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Keeping Your Eye on the Ball

Sorry for the sports cliché, but it fits. There are a lot of distractions in life — now more than ever.  The recession (I’m surprised someone hasn’t come up with a four letter word for it) has everyone distracted. Admit it, you come to work and you’re distracted. You log on to the Internet to […]

Bureau of Labor Statistics releases November 2010 Unemployment Numbers

Regional and state unemployment rates changed little from the previous month, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The November 2010 data shows 22 states recording increased unemployment rates, while 15 report decreases, and 14 report no change. The jobless rate nationwide decreased by 0.2 percent between October and November. However, the current rate of 9.8% […]

Fiduciaries Have Ongoing Duty to Monitor, High Court Vacates Tibble

The U.S. Supreme Court on May 18 unanimously vacated a federal appellate court ruling that found that employee retirement plan participants’ claims about fees applied to their plan were time-barred, sending a clear message that plan fiduciaries have an ongoing duty to monitor investments, their expenses and other related claims within that duty’s statute of […]

Employee Benefits: New IRS Rules Allow Employees Greater Flexibility In Changing Cafeteria Plan Elections

Under flexible benefit or cafeteria plans, once the plan year starts, employees are locked into their benefit elections and can’t make changes except in a few limited situations. But in a move that will be welcomed by employees, the IRS has recently announced rules that take effect immediately and greatly expand your employees’ ability to […]

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Managing Employee Status Changes Under the Affordable Care Act

By Jennifer Carsen, JD, Senior Legal Editor So, you think you’ve got a pretty good handle on this whole Affordable Care Act (ACA) thing. You know that you’re an applicable large employer (or ALE—and that “ALE” isn’t merely that thing you want to drink a lot of after a day of filling out ACA paperwork).

Holidays PTO Survey: Maximum PTO Bank

What is the maximum number of days that can be accumulated in your organization’s paid time-off plan?   1-9 days 10-19 days 20-29 days 30-59 days 60-89 days 90+ days No limit Exempt Employees 30 (6%) 61 (12%) 140 (28%) 154 (31%) 25 (5%) 32 (6.4%) 41 (8.2%) Nonexempt Employees 31 (6%) 62 (12.4%) 145 […]

Good Managers Listen More Than They Speak

A well-known cellular network’s ad once asked, “Can you hear me now?” The famous line is one we all seem to ask. We wonder if anyone is listening. We’re talking, but does anyone hear us?

Facebook postings fair game for employers

By Frederic Parisien Can Canadian employers use information from their employees’ Facebook pages in managing the employment relationship? Not an age-old question, but one debated in recent years. In many provinces, the answer was “yes.” But in other provinces, such as Quebec, some commentators took a more cautious approach. In a recent decision, the appeal […]