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Final Wellness Rule: Employers Must Offer Choices Among Health Goals, If Rewards Are Offered

Federal agencies just issued new final rules for contingency-based wellness program goals under health reform. If employers offer to give a reward (such as discounted health insurance premiums) to workers who accomplish some kind of biometric goal (a contingency standard), then employers must have a standing “reasonable alternative” to the contingency-based standard, government officials told […]

The Heath Care Reform Summit and the Future of Reform

Days after President Barack Obama released his own health care reform proposal, he presided over a health care reform summit on Thursday that both Democrats and Republicans attended. The summit was supposed to help the parties find common ground on the issue of health care reform and allow them to discuss their views. Although the […]

Massachusetts passes broad new pay equity law

A new Massachusetts pay equity law going into effect on July 1, 2018, contains provisions that are much broader than current federal law and even prohibits employers from screening applicants based on their salary or wage history. Although the law doesn’t take effect for nearly two years, employers are advised to start planning immediately in […]

Employer’s FMLA Notice Requirements Leave Little Room for Guesswork

While HR professionals may sometimes struggle with the murky areas of employment law, in a leave of absence situation, there should be no mistaking some of the more immediate obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Within five business days of receiving a request for leave, for example, you must provide three types of […]

All Quiet on the Transparency Front: Fees Still a Mystery and Hospital Quality Data Spotty

Have you asked your doctor or dentist to see his fee schedule? When I did so once, a dentist refused, saying in effect: “my prices are higher, but that’s what you need to get my quality advantage.” What’s a consumer to do? A similar relation exists between large employers and institutional providers (hospitals.) The lack […]

At EEOC’s Request, 7th Circuit May Reconsider ‘Reassignment’ Case

A federal appellate court may reconsider its views on “reassignment” as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act, at the request of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC takes the position that the ADA requires employers to reassign employees, whose disability prevents them from performing their current job, to a vacant position […]

There’s No Such Thing As Lawsuit Avoidance in 2012

Special from SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference Washington, DC In yesterday’s Advisor, we highlighted attorney Jonathan Segal’s tips for communicating with the C-suite. Today, his take on lawsuit avoidance, plus an introduction to the all-HR-in-one website, HR.BLR.com. Segal, a partner with Duane Morris law firm in Philadelphia, shared his expertise at SHRM’s Employment Law […]

Family-Care Discrimination Cases On the Rise, and Employees Are Winning Them

Employers of all types and sizes should take note of a new study released by the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. The report, “Caregivers in the Workplace: Family Responsibilities Discrimination Litigation Update 2016,” identifies workplace trends that have led to rapid growth in lawsuits brought by […]