Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
I came away from last week’s health care summit scratching my head. What exactly was accomplished that moved our country one step closer to resolution of the health care debate? From what I can tell, absolutely nothing. There was certainly plenty of posturing. Both Democrats and Republicans pretended to be interested in working with the […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced last week that discrimination charge filings in 2007 shot up 9 percent over 2006, and pregnancy bias filings reached an all-time high. The EEOC reports that it received 82,792 complaints from private-sector workers nationwide last year, which was the highest volume since 2002 and the largest annual […]
Last year, a computer hacker broke into the Rancho Cordova-based Stephen P. Teale Data Center, a California personnel database. The hacker gained access to the names, Social Security numbers, and payroll information of over 200,000 state government employees. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated occurrence—identity theft incidents are making the headlines almost daily.
The California Supreme Court has just released its long-awaited decision in the Brinker case, ruling that employers must relieve employees of all duty during meal periods – but need not ensure that no work is done during that time. For more on the case, check out the California Courts press release on the breaking decision.
After 10 years of debate, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a national ergonomics standard that covered 102 million workers and took effect in January. But the much-criticized rule—which some said would cost businesses more than $100 billion per year—has now been scrapped by Congress, within weeks of President Bush’s taking office. And the […]
As the Yahoo! suit against MForma Inc. highlights, things can get ugly if you suspect former employees have walked off with your trade secrets and joined a competitor. The best way to head off trade secrets disputes—and the potentially disastrous business consequences of your trade secrets getting into a competitor’s hands—is to take steps on […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured attorney Joseph Beachboard’s tips for employers doing background checks using social websites. Today, we move on to his specific recommendations and introduce an audio conference on controlling blogs and other Internet challenges. Beachboard’s comments came at the recent SHRM Annual Convention and Exposition in New Orleans. He is a shareholder […]
Legislation has been proposed in the U.S. Senate that would create a tax credit for employers that offer comprehensive wellness programs. The Healthy Workforce Act (S.B. 1753), authored by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), would provide a tax credit of up to $200 per employee for the first 200 employees, and up […]
On Feb. 26, SIIA’s CEO and president Mike Ferguson testified before a House panel to make it clear that skirting the ACA is not the reason companies and institutions self-insure, contrary to what pro-reform elements in the federal government may believe. The decision whether to self-fund is based on risk tolerance, understanding of legal liability, […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new fact sheet explaining how federal nondiscrimination laws apply to employer tests and other selection procedures—such as personality tests, medical exams, and credit checks—used to screen applicants for hire and employees for promotion. The fact sheet also spotlights “best practices” employers can follow to avoid […]