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New Law Addresses Mental Health Coverage Parity

Among the add-ons to the $700 billion financial rescue package that Congress recently passed was a measure that will affect many employers whose health plans offer mental health benefits. The Paul Wellstone-Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 builds on and closes employer-friendly loopholes in the limited mental health parity measure […]

News Note: Retaliation, Sexual Harassment Claims Rise

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that the number of cases involving sexual harassment and retaliation is increasing. Retaliationclaims, the fastest-growing type of complaint filed with the EEOC, have gone up more than 77% between 1992 and 1999. A total of 11,096 retaliation charges were filed in 1992, but by 1999, the number had jumped […]

OFCCP releases resources to help contractors comply with new regulations

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has posted information on its website to help federal contractors comply with the new regulations pertaining to the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. The new resources are: The VEVRAA benchmark database; The Disability […]

Smart Comp Strategies for Small Employers: How to Maximize Your Budget

Smaller businesses often can’t afford the resources that larger competitors can, says compensation expert David Wudyka, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have an effective compensation program. What’s Different About “Small Business”? When it comes to running compensation, small business have several challenges, says Wudyka, who is managing principal of Westminster Associates in Wrentham, Massachusetts. […]

State Regulators Find Inconsistencies in Broker-dealer Disclosure Practices

A survey by an association of North American state and provincial securities regulators that found numerous inconsistencies in how broker-dealers disclose fees to customers adds weight to calls from federal regulators for service providers to furnish fee guides to employer retirement plan sponsors. “[W]ide disparity among firms in the way fees were disclosed” was reported […]

8 More Tips for Improving Retention

A noted consultant suggests that retention starts with the right hire, and builds by adding feedback, care and trust. But what does the right hire start with? Yesterday’s Daily Advisor began a discussion of the issue of retention, a topic that, by all measures of our readers, is one of your prime concerns. One business […]

News Notes: New Ergonomics Rules Close To Adoption

Revised workplace ergonomics rules may be adopted as early as the April 17, 1997 meeting of the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. We reported in February that California’s ergonomics rules had to be scrapped and rewritten to be less confusing. The reworded regulations have now been prepared. They aim to clarify these main […]

Employment Law Tip: Get a Severance Signoff

Employers often use severance pay as a way to fend off possible lawsuits by departing employees. But here’s the catch: if you don’t require the employee to sign a waiver of all rights to sue you in exchange for the severance, you can be sued anyway. Whenever you offer severance an employee is not otherwise […]