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As every year does, 2008 brings new laws, new regs, and new court decisions to deal with. Here are 6 tips for handling the changes, whatever they are … and an introduction to our new January 30 audio conference, 2008 Legislative Update. New year, new laws and regs! OK, take time to groan, but only […]
by Brian Smeenk Editor – Northern Exposure Like the hockey gag line about going to a fight only to have a hockey game break out, last week Northern Exposure was the site of shock and awe, and a good legal debate broke out. There was a lot of interest in our post last week about […]
A company owner and another manager are not fiduciaries as defined by ERISA and the contributions they failed to make to their employees’ pension plans were not plan assets, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. This decision supports the premise that individual company officials who serve only as conduits for employees’ payments to […]
By Mary Jo Larson Nearly every 401(k) plan offers its participants some investment options that include revenue-sharing fee payments. For many years, employers were not even aware that their participants’ investments were generating these payments. Today, in the wake of new U.S. Department of Labor disclosure and reporting rules and well-publicized cases attacking employers for […]
Time will soon tell how many states will run health exchanges and expand Medicaid as directed in the federal health reform law. But for employer plans, the waiting game just draws out the inevitable confusion that may occur as those plans anticipate being impacted in different ways on a state-by-state basis, speakers explained at a […]
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 […]
The EEOC recently released a guidance explaining when it is and is not permissible to ask employees disability-related questions or to require them to take medical exams. In this final segment, we look at how the EEOC says you should handle a number of common but frequently thorny situations involving employee medical information. Documentation When […]
by Judith E. Kramer The controversial proposed “blacklisting” regulations implementing President Barack Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order have been published in the May 28 edition of the Federal Register for notice and comment. The proposed regulations were issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council. The order, which the proposed regulations interpret, […]
Most employers would agree that STEM careers—jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—are on the upswing in both numbers and importance. Most also would agree that there are far more men than women in STEM jobs. A 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, “Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation,” signals a […]