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3 Avoidable Errors That Could Upend Your Employees’ Retirement Plans

As older Americans approach retirement, many may be realizing their financial planning isn’t what it should have been. That could mean they need to postpone retirement—or abandon the idea altogether. “Most people don’t spend much time even thinking about retirement,” says Stephen Ng, founder and president of Stephen Ng Financial Group. Ng is also the […]

Can Metrics Really Measure HR?

It may take bit of a leap to embrace metrics, but once you do, the benefits are almost immediate, says HRMetrics.org. And if you don’t provide management with metrics, watch out for your job. HRMetrics.org, an organization that helps organizations measure HR, offers two very pragmatic reasons that metrics make sense: 1. Measuring—just the act […]

Diversity: The Ends Don’t Necessarily Justify the Means; How Two Important New Supreme Court Rulings Affect Employers

Regardless of whether your workplace has a formal diversity policy, it’s often hard to determine how and when race can be used as a criterion for hiring decisions. Two major new U.S. Supreme Court decisions offer some guidance. Although the cases deal with university admissions rather than workplace hiring, the court set out standards for […]

There Are Headaches, There Are Migraines, and Then There Are FMLA Headaches

Although proposed changes to the FMLA may alleviate some of the pain, FMLA headaches will not go away anytime soon. Today’s expert shares some workplace-tested remedies. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) management isn’t such a headache if you work out your policies carefully, publicize them to employees, and enforce them consistently, says Beverly Kish, […]

Louisiana Governor Signs Firearms Law

Effective August 15, Louisiana will join a growing number of “red” states that have limited employer policies banning guns from the workplace. Under the new law (Senate Bill 51), employers may not prohibit employees from storing “lawfully possessed” firearms in their locked personally owned or leased vehicles while parked on company property. The new law […]

Election results halt minimum wage initiatives in two Maine cities

by Connor Beatty On November 3, voters in Portland and Bangor rejected attempts to raise the minimum wage in those cities. In Portland, voters rejected a proposal that would have increased the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. The ordinance would have required all businesses and franchises employing 500 or more employees to raise […]

Federal Court Rules Health Care Reform Provision Unconstitutional

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held 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. The individual mandate would require most individuals to […]

Wage Disputes: California Appeals Court Says Exempt Corporate Executives Are Protected Too

Most employers know that exempt, salaried employees aren’t covered by California’s overtime requirements. But as a California appeals court decision points out, that doesn’t mean that other state Labor Code wage protections similarly don’t apply to exempt workers.   Pay Dispute Arises David Mazur was vice president of sales and marketing at On-Line Power, Inc., […]

Americans With Disabilities Act: New Ruling Examines Standards For Refusing To Employ Workers Who May Be At Risk For Injury

An employee has a history of fainting spells, and you’re worried that during one of these episodes the person may injure herself or another worker. What are your options? Although the Americans with Disabilities Act allows you to fire or refuse to hire an employee who poses a “direct threat” to herself or others, a […]

News Notes: Insurance Adjusters Win $90 Million In Back Overtime

Farmers Insurance Exchange has been ordered to pay $90 million to 2,400 adjusters who claimed they were misclassified as exempt administrative employees and cheated out of years of overtime pay. The record-breaking award by an Alameda County jury could ultimately top $130 million with interest and attorneys’ fees. The adjusters, who make an average of […]