Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Xerox Corp. has been cited by the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division for not developing an effective workplace violence prevention program that might have averted a mass shooting by a copy machine repairman that left seven co-workers dead. The agency charged that Xerox failed to train managers to recognize and reduce potential hazards as […]
A recent survey by the American Management Association shows that employers are stepping up their monitoring of employees’ Internet use, with 61% of employers reporting that they monitor Web surfing and 46% stating they keep tabs on e-mail. And some employers are going even further when it comes to trying to track down the identity […]
A jury in Manhattan, New York, has awarded $11.2 million to the former general manager of Leona Helmsley’s luxury Park Lane Hotel. The worker claimed he was fired because his is gay. Former manager Charles Bell charged that Helmsley embarked on a campaign of harassment against him—and ultimately discharged him after just four months on […]
A coal mine in Birmingham, Ala. will pay $40,000 to settle allegations it failed to reassign a worker with a disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rocky Davis had hearing loss and was regularly assigned to an area of the mine that adversely affected his hearing aids, according to the U.S. Equal […]
For centuries, children often followed in the footsteps of their parents when entering the workforce. If your father was a farmer or a blacksmith or a fisherman, that is what you were taught, and that was what you were likely to also do when you came of age. The same holds true to some extent […]
Starting 2012, savers can sock away $17,000 per year in a 401(k) retirement plan without paying upfront taxes, up from $16,500 in 2010. This increase applies to all 401(k) and 403(b) plans, most 457 plans and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan. The last time the IRS raised this elective deferral (contribution) limit was in […]
Ever wonder what your employees are thinking about their jobs, supervisors, promotion opportunities, teamwork, and other important workplace issues? Now you can find out, through the complimentary National Employee Attitude Survey. Employers can sign up to participate in the survey program that will benchmark their employees’ responses to a written questionnaire to answers from employees […]
Regulatory guidance is closer to fruition that may help 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors better educate plan participants on lifetime income options, and may allay their concerns about the expense and legal risk of doing so. On May 8, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking […]
In proposed rules issued Jan. 27, the IRS clarifies how participants in employer-sponsored plans are to count employer contributions to HRAs and wellness program incentives when calculating their contributions to employer-sponsored coverage. In those rules, the IRS also allows temporary exceptions to health care reform’s definition of minimum essential coverage for government-sponsored limited-benefit plans, giving […]
The campaign to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour fell a step backward in a Senate vote on April 30—a vote that brought cheers from business interests concerned that the increase would be too onerous on employers and jeers from labor groups that claim the current $7.25 minimum is inadequate. Sixty votes […]