Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
For better or worse, the American workplace is different than it was, and perhaps also different from how we want it to be. HR managers have to bridge the gap, says attorney Christopher Leh. People want the workforce to be a family, where managers and employees can talk about anything and everything. But the fact […]
by Karen Sargeant Can fired employees afford to take their prior employers to court? Are trials too expensive? Are there better ways to secure justice for employees? These are some of the questions a group of lawyers in Ontario, Canada, have been considering. Earlier this year, the Chief Justice of Ontario expressed concerns that employees […]
Keep in mind that some individuals may be eligible for COBRA premium subsidies beyond Aug. 31, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) noted today in updated material on its website. The updated frequently-asked-question on the end of the subsidy period follows: Q1: I’ve heard that the COBRA Premium Reduction (Subsidy) ends on August 31, 2011, […]
If you have an employer-sponsored health plan, it is important to stay up-to-date on the latest information about the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, or HIPAA—which imposes requirements regarding the security of medical information, nondiscrimination in health plans, and much more. We’ll take a look at HIPAA developments that are new for 2007.
The Obama administration’s proposed U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) budget for fiscal year 2015 stresses a continuation of enforcement initiatives from previous years as well as new job training and assistance initiatives. Released on March 4, the budget proposal includes $11.8 billion in discretionary funding for the DOL, $300,000 less than the request in the […]
A trial court has given the go-ahead to a class action overtime lawsuit by 2,300 California Taco Bell managers and assistant managers. The workers allege that they were misclassified as exempt employees and wrongfully denied overtime pay by the restaurant chain. They claim that they spent more than half of their working time performing nonmanagerial […]
In the 2025 book “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies,” the authors confidently predict how superhuman AI will lead to the annihilation of humanity. The book isn’t fiction. Existential threat or not, AI is here and growing all around us, including, increasingly, in the workplace. Its prevalence raises significant issues for unionized employers, such as […]
A plan participant’s disregard of health plan requests to verify dependent eligibility was a proper basis of a plan’s action to remove his dependents from coverage and garnish wages to recover about $23,000 in benefits overpayments, a federal court ruled in Muhammad v. Ford Motor Co., 2012 WL 95298 (E.D. Mich., Jan. 12, 2012). The […]
In a long-awaited ruling that could put the brakes on some wage and hour class actions in California, an appeals court has provided welcome guidance and relief to employers on their responsibility to provide meal breaks and pay for “off-the-clock” work.
California law prohibits employers from asking job applicants about most marijuana-related convictions that are more than two years old. A new California appeals court decision, Starbucks v. Superior Court (Lords), highlights the fact that employers must be extremely clear with applicants that they are not seeking this barred info.