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Family Leave: New Law Creates Paid Family Leave Program; What You Need To Know

A newly signed piece of legislation that has drawn much attention—S.B. 1661—makes California the first state in the nation to have a paid family leave program. Fortunately, you’ll have time to get ready because employees can’t begin to collect the family leave pay benefits until July 1, 2004. To help you get started, we’ve laid […]

Potential deal in works to fill NLRB seats

by Tammy Binford With the clock ticking on the term of the only confirmed member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), reports are circulating that President Barack Obama will send two new nominees to the Senate and abandon his two previous appointees, who face opposition because of their disputed recess appointment status. On July […]

Romney: Repeal and Replace Health Reform Law With More Consumerism, Tax-based Incentives

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently provided more details on his own health reform plan, stating that if elected, on his first day in office, says he will issue an executive order for the federal government to issue health reform waivers to all 50 states, and immediately work on repealing the health reform law passed […]

Employers Will Bear Burden of Filling Reform Fund to Stabilize Individual Market

Employers that sponsor health plans are bracing themselves for a significant tax hit under health reform. Health reform’s transitional reinsurance program, which will require insurers and self-funded plans to pay billions of dollars to partly reimburse commercial insurers writing individual policies for patients with very high medical costs, imposes large costs on employers to further […]

News Notes: Employer Must Consider Reassigning Disabled Employee To Positions At Equivalent Pay Level

A recent ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals helps clarify which positions disabled employees must be considered for when they can’t perform their present job. Rodney McLean was a postal clerk until his physical condition prevented him from performing his duties. Although he identified many vacant positions at the same pay level […]

Senate Votes to Extend COBRA Subsidy

Update Dec. 21, 2009: President signs bill including COBRA subsidy extension In an unusual Saturday morning session on Dec. 19, the U.S. Senate voted 88-10 to pass legislation that would extend the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which President Barack Obama signed into law in […]

IRS Releases 2011 Withholding Details

The IRS released details on withholding for 2011, including a payroll tax cut for employees. Employers can view early release copies of percentage method tables for income tax withholding in 2011 on the IRS website.

Survey Says: Non-Health Benefits Staying Strong

A recent survey conducted by M Lee Smith Publishers offers some surprising insights on non-healthcare benefits. For example, only about 19 percent of respondents offer telecommuting, although 35 percent allow flex time. Nearly a third offer PTO, and about a third offer a wellness program. About 500 employers participated in the survey, which revealed many […]

In Your Facebook: Routine or Risky?

Yesterday’s Advisor covered reasons why HR managers should avoid Internet background checks using Google, Facebook, MySpace, and other websites. But that’s not the end of the story. In our last issue, an HR expert cautioned managers to avoid Internet background checks of potential hires. Legally, she’s right. Realistically, HR people are doing them anyway. The […]

Congressional Subpoena Flap Amplifies Criticism of NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena is a sign of increasing rancor stemming from the Board’s case against the Boeing Co. The NLRB refused to comply with an August 5 subpoena from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that set an August 12 deadline for the agency […]