Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The percentage of 401(k) plan participants borrowing from their retirement accounts has remained steady amid record levels of savings in the accounts, but one data point from Fidelity Investments’ latest quarterly analysis of the thousands of accounts it manages could be cause for concern. According to the retirement plan administrator for 13.5 million 401(k) participants, […]
by Christine D. Mehfoud Whether the president’s recent series of immigration-related executive actions will survive potential legal challenges and congressional action remains to be seen. For now, set aside your political views (while I love a good political debate, this space is for practical business implications), and let’s focus on how the executive actions will […]
The long-awaited proposed rules to update the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemptions, issued June 30 by the U.S. Department of Labor, would extend overtime protections to an additional 5 million workers in 2016. The proposed changes would extend overtime coverage to all workers making up to approximately $50,400 per year. The proposal, released just under […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has reported that discrimination charge filings in 2005 were down in all bias categories, and dropped by 5 percent overall. The EEOC received 75,428 charges for the fiscal year 2005 (which ended Sept. 30) and recovered almost $380 million in monetary relief through enforcement actions and litigation. The […]
On August 17, 2006, President Bush signed the sweeping Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4) into law. The bill, which is the most comprehensive overhaul of pension laws in 30 years, will: require employers to fully fund pensions, with time limits for funding shortfalls; encourage more employers to use automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans; […]
Now that the state budget stalemate has finally ended, Governor Schwarzenegger has gotten back to the work of signing bills sent to him by the legislature, and his last day to do so was September 30. One of the first bills penned into law expands the existing ban on driving while using a cell phone […]
As part of its ongoing ERISA enforcement, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration recently investigated Walnut, Calif.-based Avacon Corporation’s 401(k) ERISA compliance. As a result of the investigation, the PWBA filed acomplaint, charging that four Avacon plan officials and trustees had failed to forward employee contributions to the plan in a timely fashion. During the […]
Summer is upon us, and that means an influx of seasonal teen workers at many workplaces throughout the state. You may have already looked into the special safety rules for these workers, as well as the restrictions on the hours they can work, but there’s another key issue you may not have considered: sexual harassment.
In every issue, we take one reader’s question and ask our other readers to weigh in. Here’s what you had to say about a recent question:
A senior programmer who was fired allegedly because he complained about his employer’s 401(k) investment options has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit. James Salsman, a former employee of Veritas Software in MountainView, claimed it would violate his Quaker beliefs if his money were invested in businesses that produce weapons. Veritas’ retirement plan limited employees to investing […]