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Federal appeals courts issue conflicting decisions on ACA subsidies

A few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate, federal courts are looking at a different aspect of the law—exchange subsidies. On July 22, there was a flurry of activity on the issue, with two federal appeals courts issuing conflicting rulings. States had the option […]

Proposal Would Speed Bankruptcy Retirement Asset Distributions

To expedite distribution of retirement assets from companies in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, the U.S. Department of Labor wants to allow bankruptcy trustees to use its Abandoned Plan Program. This program establishes a process to terminate abandoned plans so that plan participants and beneficiaries gain quicker access to their benefits; currently, however, bankruptcy trustees do […]

Health and Safety: Employee Obesity Can Create Risks in the Workplace; Low-Cost Approaches to Tip the Scales in Your Favor

No doubt you’ve heard that Americans are getting heavier. The Surgeon General reports that in 1999, 61 percent of adults in the United States were overweight, twice as many as in 1980. And as of 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly a quarter of all Californians were obese. These numbers—and the […]

Some ‘Surprised and Disappointed’; Some ‘Loved’ It

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Dan Oswald’s recent epinion, “It Takes Three—Creative Type, Business Type, and ?” garnered contrasting responses, some quite negative and some quite positive. The original article put forth the proposition that successful companies need three types of leadership: creative, business, and a**hole. Here are the comments: ‘Every […]

Court Rejects Reinstatement of Erroneous Benefit Payments to Ineligible Retiree

BY Justin Alex, Proskauer Rose Law Firm Defined benefit plan sponsors can solve plan overpayments in several ways, including using IRS self-correction programs. But it’s important to remember that plans are not required to keep paying benefits to those not eligible for them to begin with, Proskauer Rose law firm associate attorney Justin Alex reminds us […]

Massive Desire for Cultural Fit Among Workers

When companies look to hire new employees, there are some baseline credentials that typically must be met: education, certifications, years of experience, experience in certain specific areas, etc. By and large, these credentials can be ascertained from a résumé or online job application.

More Delays in Health-reform Implementation; Oct. 1 Start for Exchanges Compromised

The federal agencies implementing health reform continue to delay aspects of roll-out, especially as they relate to state-based health insurance marketplaces (also called “exchanges”), which are supposed to be up and running on Oct. 1. The Obama White House announced on Sept. 27 that federally run health-insurance exchanges, required by health care reform, will not […]

Ethicist "Lying Employee" Column Kicks Up a Storm: Our Readers Talk Back!

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Readers deliver a veritable flood of responses—mostly critical—to The Ethicist column about how to handle a lying employee. My column two weeks back concerned some advice that The Ethicist (a newspaper columnist) gave concerning an employee who claimed she needed leave because she was suffering from cancer. Her […]