Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
On Jan. 1, 2005, the California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act (DPRRA) went into effect, giving registered domestic partners the same rights, duties, benefits, and responsibilities that spouses enjoy under California law. Now, the California Supreme Court, in its first ruling under the DPRRA, has said that the law creates broad responsibilities for businesses […]
What are you colleagues reading? These books are at the top of the SHRM’s bestseller list. 1. 151 Quick Ideas to Manage Your Time by Robert E. Dittmer. Do more in less time, take control of your schedule, and create a new balance between your work and your family life. 2. Effective Phrases for Performance […]
On Friday, August 12, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta held 2-1 that the individual health insurance mandate provision found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the comprehensive health care reform legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law in March 2010, is unconstitutional. More specifically, the court found […]
Employers with employees who seek coverage under their benefit plans for their same-sex spouses would be justified in wondering exactly what they should do under federal law. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is still in force, but the Obama administration will not enforce or defend it. And now another court has found it […]
Here is the Wall Street Journal’s Kyle Stock’s list of 5 books to read in 2011 to help improve your work life. 1. Getting More: How to Negotiate to Achieve Your Goals in the Real World by Stuart Diamond. Practitioner, professor, and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Diamond uses his 40 years of experience as an […]
Plan administrators and employers that offer adoption assistance and long-term care (LTC) insurance need to adjust their plans for 2012 to account for increased amounts that can be excluded from taxable income. The IRS issued the rates for use in 2012 in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2011-52. Adoption Tax Credit The tax credit under Code […]
We have a service repair technician who is required to repair 12 instruments a year, but due to a 3-month Family and Medical Leave Act absence was only able to repair 6. May we view him as an unsatisfactory performer and reduce his merit raise?
The final regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 will become effective January 13. The Act requires group health plans that offer mental health or substance use disorder benefits to ensure that those benefits are equivalent to the medical and surgical benefits offered by the […]
Agreements to arbitrate employment disputes are more popular than ever with employers because they can help avoid expensive and risky litigation. They are also controversial because some believe it’s unfair to require employees to agree in advance to submit employment claims to arbitration, giving up the right to a jury trial and potentially huge damages. […]
In part one of this article, we noted that bad hires are costly—not only in monetary terms but also in employee morale and possibly productivity. Today, let’s take a look at some ways to avoid bad hires.