Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Voters in Washington state and Maryland will weigh in on whether same-sex marriage should be legal in their states. Employers in these states — as well as those in adjacent states where same-sex marriage is not legal — would be wise to monitor developments and use the upcoming months to prepare for any possible changes […]
Penalties for noncompliance with California wage and hour laws can add up surprisingly fast, says attorney Christopher C. Hoffman. And it’s surprisingly easy to run afoul of California‘s many tricky requirements. (See yesterday’s CED to read Hoffman’s tips on rest periods and meal breaks in California.)
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is set to hear opinions on its proposed changes to the rules governing union representation elections during hearings on April 10-11. The meetings can be seen in their entirety at www.nlrb.gov/openmeeting. The hearings will begin at 9:00 a.m. (ET) at the Board’s Washington, D.C., offices. Speakers had to submit […]
An international consultant forecasts that, in the coming year, corporate leaders will focus on retention, ethics, self-development, and “bonding with employees.” What human resources priorities will America’s corporate leadership (with the help and guidance of their HR people, of course) be focusing on in 2007? One of the key prognosticators on this topic has been […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that you can’t deny COBRA continuation coverage to an eligible employee or dependent simply because the person-at the time COBRA coverage is elected-is also covered under another group health plan, such as one provided by a spouse’s employer.3 Note that despite this new ruling you can terminate COBRA benefits […]
The IRS has announced that it has extended the deadline for employers subject to certain reporting requirements necessary under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). New deadlines have been set for employers subject to Sections 6055 and 6056 reporting requirements: The deadline for employers to furnish employees Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, and Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health […]
Last year, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, ruled that employees cannot expect privacy when using workplace computers if their employer has an electronic monitoring policy in place. But now, the Ninth Circuit has revisited that ruling—this time finding that the employee indeed had an expectation of privacy for the computer […]
A series of agency Q&As resolves a few questions relating to complying with federal health care reform, such as correctly counting participants’ out-of-pocket expenditures; wellness program reward administration; and the status of “carved-out” benefits. In latest set of Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury provide some […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we looked at DOL’s checklist for wellness program compliance. Today, the “paragraph (f)” criteria, plus an introduction to the wellness program guide that boosts the ROI of your program. If you want to institute a wellness program that discriminates based on a health factor (for example, rewards people who have low cholesterol […]
An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa is causing concern in the United States, as the medical community and various organizations watch to see if the outbreak will be contained, or will spread globally. Although this situation is occurring thousands of miles away, it is a good reminder for businesses in the United […]