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The state Insurance Commissioner has approved a 10.1% premium rate hike for workers’ compensation insurance in response to increases in medical costs that have battered workers’ comp insurers. Although the approved boost is only advisory, increases adopted by the commissioner are frequently used by the industry as a guidepost to set policy prices.
The American workforce is getting older, and age-bias complaints are prevalent. In 2003, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 19,124 age-discrimination claims and recovered $48.9 million in damages for age-bias victims. And big cases regularly hit the headlines. In July 2004, for example, Google, the California-based Internet search engine company, was sued for age bias […]
A majority of Americans agree that lifestyle choices such as smoking and exercising directly affect the cost of their health care, yet 44 percent do not think they should have to pay for health care. What gives? A recent survey revealed that employees do see a connection between their behavior and their health, and they […]
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, […]
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. […]
Does your workplace discriminate “unconsciously?” Courts aren’t sure, says Fortune magazine. But the EEOC isn’t waiting to find out. Despite years of the government, courts, and society in general fighting it, patterns of discrimination still exist at many businesses. Workers seem to be held down based on race, gender, or other factors. But while some […]
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 […]
Northwestern University’s appeal of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling claims an NLRB regional director ignored evidence that the school’s scholarship football players are students—not employees—and relied too much on the testimony of a single player. On April 9, the private university located in Evanston, Illinois, asked the full NLRB to review and overturn […]
President Bush has issued a new Executive order exempting religious organizations that contract with the U.S. government from prohibitions on religious discrimination in hiring. The order, part of his “faith-based initiative,” applies to religious corporations, associations, educational institutions, and societies. It does not, however, release religious groups from complying with other state and local anti-bias […]