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Temporary Workers: Union Sues Ventura County For Using Temps

In the latest example of the trend toward challenging the use of temporary workers by government and private employers, Ventura County’s largest labor union, the Service Employees International Union, has sued the county. The union charges that the county paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past year to temporary workers in clerical, maintenance […]

Legislation Special Report: Workers’ Compensation

Delay Penalties and Utilization Review AB 1557 provides that an employee isn’t entitled to the usual 10 percent increase in workers’ compensation benefits for an unreasonable delay in providing medical treatment if the delay was necessary to complete the new utilization review process required of employers by the workers’ comp reform legislation (see below).

How Will Your Business Respond to Family Day?

by Brian Smeenk, formerly with McCarthy Tetrault A new statutory holiday, Family Day, has been declared in the province of Ontario. It will be celebrated on February 18. In subsequent years, it will fall on the third Monday of each February. Employers should begin considering how their organization will respond. In particular, employers should begin […]

IRS to Hold Public Hearings on Governmental Plan Updates

The IRS and the Department of Treasury is still seeking public input on future standards to determine whether a retirement plan is a governmental plan under Code Section 414(d). According to the IRS, more guidance is needed for Section 414(d), as the statutory rules for governmental plans differ from those for nongovernmental plans. Further, changes […]

Tap Into Generational IT Insight

M. Lee Smith Publishers’ President Dan Oswald comments on the generational divide that most companies are experiencing in relation to technology and offers five tips for how employers can harness the know-how and insight of their younger employees. I recently handed a newspaper column written by Financial Times columnist Luke Johnson to my 18-year old […]

Government Issues Health Care Reform Regulations on ‘Grandfathered’ Plans

On June 14, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury issued new regulations addressing grandfathered plans under health care reform and how such plans can keep their grandfathered status. Although the new health care reform legislation (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability […]

Tips on FLSA’s Training Rules Can Help Employers Avoid Trips to Court

Many employers get sued for failing to properly administer compensable time — including the requirement that generally, employers must pay employees for time spent in training programs, meetings or similar activities. So to avoid costly litigation or enforcement challenges, an employer needs to understand — and correctly apply —the Fair Labor Standards Act’s basic criteria […]