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Cal-OSHA Tackles Heat-Related Illness

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published tips for workers and employers to keep in mind during heat waves. The new materials include an advisory for employers that explains the duty to take steps necessary to prevent heat-related illness, plus fact sheets for workers to help them recognize and respond to symptoms of […]

National-Origin Discrimination, Part 2: EEOC Issues New Guidance; What You Need to Know About Language Policies and Citizenship Discrimination

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued new guidance to help employers understand the prohibitions against national-origin discrimination and to suggest best practices for fostering a bias-free workplace. Last month, we reviewed what the guidelines have to say about employment decisions and workplace security issues. This month, we’ll explain the guidelines concerning language requirements […]

Retaining Employees—Five Key Tips

In yesterday’s Advisor, we found the first of the “15 tips in 15 minutes” from expert panelists at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium. Today, more tips plus an introduction to a special product just for smaller or even one-person HR departments. The original talk was called 30 ideas in 30 minutes, but we’ve culled the […]

Health Care Reform Law Moves One Step Closer to Supreme Court

The Obama administration surprised many yesterday when the U.S. Department of Justice asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a decision by the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that the health insurance mandate provision found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the comprehensive health care reform […]

IRS Streamlines Employer Health Coverage Reporting in Proposed Rules

Self-insured employers may not have to report the portion of the premium they pay, because that is not needed to determine if an individual is covered by “minimum essential coverage.” That’s one of a number of reporting items removed or reduced in IRS proposed health care reform rules detailing and streamlining reports on coverage offered […]

OCR to Take Closer Look at Smaller HIPAA Breaches

Most Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enforcement has focused on the larger breaches of protected health information (PHI). But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has not forgotten those incidents that fall below the “major” threshold of 500 individuals.