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Bulletin: Industrial Welfare Commission Falls Victim to Budget Cuts

The California Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) is no longer in operation. State budget cutbacks eliminated the IWC, which determined wages, hours, and working conditions of employees in various occupations, trades, and industries. The agency also published wage orders. However, employers are still required to post the appropriate wage order in their workplace, and the Division […]

Immigration: Government Issues No-Match Rules

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a new rule describing the steps an employer must take when it receives a “no-match” letter from DHS or the Social Security Administration (SSA). The rule takes effect on Sept. 14, 2007.

This Week’s Changes to Federal Employment Laws

For the third week in a row, Congress and President Barack Obama have made changes to federal employment laws or regulations. First, it was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The next week, President Obama signed executive orders affecting federal contractors and unions. And this week brings us the stimulus plan with changes to COBRA […]

2 Big Insurers Pledge to Cover Mandates Even if Health Reform Is Cast Out

Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the federal health care reform,  Humana and UnitedHealth Group on June 11 announced that they would continue several of health reform’s insurance mandates. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether the “individual mandate” (for everyone to get health insurance or pay a penalty) is unconstitutional, but […]

Hiring: Do We Really Need an At-Will Statement in All Employee Documents?

We are in the process of reworking all of our selection and hiring paperwork. I’m trying to insist on strong at-will language throughout, from application to offer letter to handbook. But our management is trying to improve retention and wants to brand the company as “a great place to work.” They think the at-will language […]

New Supervisors Don’t Know Their Own Power

New supervisors don‘t understand their new power, says attorney Jeffrey Wortman, and HR Managers had better teach them about it before they make an expensive mistake. Wortman’s comments were part of a wide-ranging discussion delivered to an enthusiastic audience at BLR’s Second Annual National Employment Law Update, held last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Next […]

Short Takes: Harassment Training for Temps

I have a question about sexual harassment training. We have 35 full-time regular employees and usually about 40 or 50 temporaries. The temps work for months at a time, but we release them during slow periods. I think the law says you have to provide harassment training if you have 50 or more employees. Do we […]

IRS Further Explains Reform Rules on Health FSAs

Employers and plan administrators that offer health flexible spending accounts have been bracing themselves for Jan. 1, 2013. That’s when the $2,500 limit on health FSA salary reduction contributions provided for in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act kicks in. The IRS on May 30 issued Notice 2012-40, which provides guidance on the limit, […]