Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has published a final regulation requiring pension plans to file Form 5500 annual reports electronically, beginning with 2008 plan year filings (due in 2009). The agency has also proposed changes to update the forms that will be used under the new electronic system. For information […]
CVS Pharmacy, Inc., has agreed to pay $226,598 in penalties and $38,151 in back wages to settle U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) allegations that the company violated wage and youth labor provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The DOL says an investigation revealed that 78 minors at CVS stores in the Northeast […]
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has finalized a rule eliminating the requirement that non-construction federal contractors periodically file an equal employment survey known as the “EO Survey.” The Clinton administration introduced the survey in 2000, but it was widely criticized for being burdensome to contractors and not providing the OFCCP with the […]
By Douglas R. Chamberlain Sulloway & Hollis, P.L.L.C. The U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision on healthcare reform (also known as the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) will be dissected and argued about for many years to come. The Court essentially upheld all the key elements of the healthcare reform law — most notably the so-called […]
Carolyn Claxton was an office assistant for Pacific Maritime Corp. She filed workers’ comp claims against Pacific Maritime for a slip-and-fall injury and for an injury to her “psyche due to sexual harassment.” She then filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Pacific Maritime and manager Ray Waters.
May is Healthy Vision Month, a good time to remind your employees of your vision-related benefits and eye protection and safety measures, as well as precautions they can take to maintain their own eye health. Unfortunately, says the Vision Council, the modern day workspace is far from “eye-gonomic,” and day-long use of computers, combined with personal use […]
A federal appeals court has ruled that a pre-employment strength test administered to applicants for jobs at Dial Corporation’s Armour Star sausage-making plant in Fort Madison, Iowa, discriminated against women. The decision upholds a lower court ruling last year ordering Dial to pay $3 million to a group of women who were rejected for hire […]
What once was acceptable workplace behavior and humor no longer is. And if some in your company don’t know it, there’s a world of Internet onlookers ready to tell them so. After a trying morning, Jack, usually a calm and restrained manager, lost it at the office. He screamed at his workers, and threw a […]
Our recent survey on paid time off reveals that more and more organizations are going the PTO route for offering time off. For holidays, over 90% of respondents are offering New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving, and 81% will offer the Monday after Christmas. Fifty-eight percent of responding companies have […]
The IRS is helping businesses cut their transportation costs but, even better, businesses are helping employees cut their costs as well. Shout hallelujah! It’s finally here. The annual IRS business mileage cost adjustment, which takes effect every January 1. This year, it’s an unusually large change. Your company can now deduct 4 cents a mile […]