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Obama to Appoint Controversial NLRB Nominee Craig Becker

On March 27, President Barack Obama announced his intent to use his constitutional power to make appointments while Congress is in recess to appoint Democrat Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This is the first time the President has used recess appointments. Becker, a union attorney, has been a controversial nominee since […]

News Notes: Court Affirms Religious Employers Are Exempt From Bias Laws

The California Supreme Court has clarified that nonprofit, religious entities may be exempt from state anti-discrimination laws regardless of how they are incorporated. A nurse at Mercy Healthcare Sacramento sued the hospital for sex and race bias after she was passed up for a promotion. Mercy asked to have the case thrown out, relying on […]

Immigration: H-1B Visa Cap Reached for Fiscal Year 2007

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, as of the end of May 2006, it already received enough H-1B visa petitions to meet and exceed the H-1B visa cap of 64,300 for the 2007 fiscal year (which begins on October 1, 2006). The final date to submit a petition for consideration […]

Employer Family Health Premiums Rose 4% in 2015

Single and family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 4% in 2015, according to the recently released Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2015 Employer Health Benefits Survey.

News Notes: New IRS Rules Make Retirement Plan More Employer Friendly

Rigid administrative requirements make many employers hesitate to participate in so-called 401(k) safe-harbor plans. But these programs can prove valuable because they permit you to avoid costly discrimination testing requirements by following a specific formula for contributions. Now the IRS has issued new rules that add some flexibility. Significant changes include revising the way matching […]

Will Stress Cause the American Workplace to ‘Snap’? Can Flexibility Save Us?

BLR CEO and Founder Bob Brady returns from a work-life conference with work/life balance flexibility as an antidote to stress, and a reminder to not forget the person who must make that flexibility work. Are things “about to snap” in the American workplace? Are we reaching a “tipping point” at which stress-related trauma is going […]

What Tennessee Election Results Mean for Employers

By John B. Phillips, Jr. After the midterm elections, Tennessee’s congressional delegation will be made up of seven Republicans and two Democrats, a net gain of two seats for the GOP. Tuesday’s election continues Tennessee’s move toward a solid-red Republican state. Both U.S. Senators are Republicans, though neither was up for election this year. In […]

PBGC Now Requires Electronic Filings

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)—the federal agency that insures pension benefits for millions of Americans—has published a final rule requiring sponsors of defined benefit pension plans to electronically file their annual premium declarations. Effective July 1, large plan sponsors (those with 500 or more participants) must file premiums electronically for plan years beginning on […]