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National-Origin Discrimination, Part 1: EEOC Issues New Guidance; What You Need to Know

Because of increasing diversity in the workforce—and a spike in discrimination complaints since the events of Sept. 11, 2001—taking steps to avoid national-origin bias is more critical than ever. Now, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released updated guidelines to help employers understand the prohibitions against national-origin discrimination and to suggest best practices for […]

Short Takes: Benefits

Once we hire an employee, we provide full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage to the employee, spouse, and children. Are we able to request marriage certificates and birth certificates for eligible family members for the purpose of insurance benefits? We have found that employees will often list nonrelatives for insurance benefits (e.g., a boyfriend, […]

More Employers Conducting Background Checks

According to new figures from ADP Employer Services 2005 Screening Index, employment background checks were up by 12 percent in 2005 over the previous year. ADP reports that it conducted 4.86 million background checks in 2005, compared to 4.3 million in 2004. Forty-nine percent of the 2005 checks revealed a data inconsistency in education, employment, […]

Sued? Here’s the Worst Thing You Can Do

In yesterday’s Advisor, we gave you the first 6 of 10 steps to take if you are sued. Today, we’ll find four more critical actions you must take, and we’ll take a look at a unique HR problem solver. Here, again courtesy of the Employer Resource Institute®, are "We’ve been sued!" tips 7 through 10. […]

EEOC Proposes Rules Defining ‘Reasonable Factor Other Than Age’

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed regulations that would define “reasonable factor other than age” under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The need for these rules arises in the wake of the Smith v. City of Jackson decision, a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court addressed the appropriate […]

Disabled Workers: New ADA Guidance for Healthcare Industry

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released a new fact sheet explaining how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to job applicants and employees in the healthcare industry–the largest industry in the American economy. The new publication is the latest in a series of fact sheets on specific disabilities and industries. It is available […]

Telecommuting, Flex, Dress—What’s Actually Happening?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady For years, BLR® has surveyed HR and benefits professionals to see what benefits they are actually offering to employees. This year, we are expanding our survey program by conducting a series of brief, targeted benefits surveys. The findings of these surveys are analyzed and presented free to all […]