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How Will the Election Affect Health Care Reform?

Here’s the third in our popular series of “Eye on the Election” posts which are focused on helping employers prepare for post-election changes, no matter who is elected. Eye on the Election For today’s topic—likely changes to health care reform after the election—we turned to BLR legal editor Jessica Webb-Ayer, J.D., editor of the Benefits […]

Heated Political ‘Debates’—Can You Control them at Work?

It’s that time again; employers and their employees are getting ready to vote. It is an exciting time that engenders a good deal of discussion—and probably some arguments—at coffee machines and in lunchrooms. As with many areas of employment law, a patchwork quilt of federal and state laws governs the employer interface with political issues. […]

Many Businesses Overlook Onboarding for Freelancers

We’ve been hearing about the tight labor market for some time now. With unemployment at historic lows, we’ve talked a lot about how hard it can be for companies to attract and retain top talent—it’s a seller’s market when it comes to labor.

Child Labor and Overtime Problems Wilt Employer

Organic grocer Sunflower Market has agreed to pay $125,310 in back overtime wages to 78 workers at its stores in New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to resolve charges that the employer misapplied executive and administrative overtime exemptions. The DOL also fined Colorado-based Sunflower $10,670 […]

Supreme Court Rules Public Employee’s Text Messages Not Private

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public employer did not violate an employee’s constitutional privacy rights by searching his personal (and often sexually explicit) text messages that were sent and received on his employer-issued pager. The Backstory The City of Ontario, California, issued pagers that could send and receive text messages to Ontario […]

7 Strategies for Improving Engagement during Open Enrollment

With many employers making changes to their health insurance plans, including accelerated adoption of high-deductible health plans, it’s more critical than ever for companies to strengthen their efforts to engage employees during their open enrollment periods, according to Chris Hill, CEO of Spotlite.

Bathroom Etiquette Should Not Influence Hiring

By Robert P. Tinnin, Jr. Q: This morning I interviewed an applicant for a clerical position in our company. She appeared to be an attractive, personable young woman and was very engaging during the interview. However, I soon learned that “she” is really a “he,” at least anatomically. She told me she is preparing to […]