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News Notes: Court OKs Tax Deduction For Employer-Provided Meals
Employers who provide on-site meals to certain workers have been given a break by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Boyd Gaming Corp., which owns casinos in Nevada, offered workers free meals in an on-site cafeteria because it required them for security reasons to remain on the premises for their entire shift. But when […]
FLSA’s Emergency Exemption May Apply to Some Boston Employees
Emergency situations — such as the April 15 explosions during the Boston Marathon — can result in employees performing multiple job duties. For example, a store manager may have spent time cleaning up glass and debris in and around the store. This type of work does not normally qualify as the manager’s duty; however, the […]
Short Takes: Reference Checks
We’re trying to set up our policy for doing reference checks on final applicants. Can you help us with some basic guidelines? What if the former employers won’t talk? Job Descriptions in California: How To Tackle Tricky Drafting Hurdles Job descriptions can be your best friend or your worst enemy from both a practical and […]
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, […]
Americans with Disabilities Act: EEOC Updates Reasonable Accommodation Enforcement Guidance; What You Should Know Now
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has updated its enforcement guidance concerning reasonable accommodation and undue hardship under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The revisions stem from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it is unreasonable for an employer to have to reassign a disabled employee if doing so would violate a seniority system, […]
House Votes to Repeal ACA Small-group Insurance Expansion
The U.S. House of Representatives in a voice vote on Sept. 28 unanimously approved H.R. 1624, the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act, which would redefine small employer as having 50 or fewer employees and give states the option of expanding the definition to include employers with up to 100 employees. The previous definition had been groups […]
‘Through’ Fund Strategy May Serve Near-retirees Best, Vanguard Says
While most U.S. retirement plan participants age 60 or older move their assets out of employer plans within five years of leaving a company, they often don’t touch the funds for years after that, a new report by money manager Vanguard found. As a result, Vanguard suggests to plan sponsors, this tendency of older terminated […]
OFCCP Stepping Up Enforcement
Earlier this year, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which is responsible for ensuring that entities doing business with the federal government take affirmative action as required by Executive Order 11246, released its fiscal year 2011 budget request and enforcement initiatives. OFCCP director Patricia A. Shiu said she plans to implement full-scale aggressive […]