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In some years, Sept. 23 represents the Autumn Equinox, but in 2012 for health plan sponsors and administrators, it triggers the compliance date for a key disclosure requirement under health reform: the distribution of summaries of benefits and coverage, beginning with open enrollment periods and/or plan years that begin on or after Sept. 23. Here […]
Survey results state that Americans are given less vacation time by their employers than any of the other countries surveyed. Even so, a significant number of employees in the U.S. don’t take all of their vacation time. Thirty-one percent of all employed U.S. adults expect not to use all of their allotted vacation days. Some […]
Paula Green, who was hired by the Ontario office of Par Pools as a swimming pool construction superintendent, complained that her $400-per-week salary was lower than the salaries paid to male construction superintendents with jobs identical to hers. She sued Par Pools under the California equal pay law. But a California Court of Appeal dismissed […]
In other immigration news, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also recently announced that it is drafting a rule that will reduce the number of documents that can be used establish identity and work eligibility in the I-9 process.
Doris Rowe, an exempt supervisor at Laidlaw Transit Inc., was restricted to part-time work after suffering an on-the-job injury. Laidlaw paid her by the hour while she was on the reduced schedule and resumed paying her salary when she returned to work full time. Rowe sued Laidlaw for back overtime, arguing that by paying her […]
As a follow-up to its “Section 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire Interim Report,” the IRS will host a phone forum March 6. The phone forum will be hosted by Monika Templeman, Director of Employee Plans Examinations at the IRS, along with IRS employees Janice Gore and Rhonda Migdail. Submit any questions you have about the Interim […]
The federal government is developing a new employer notice dealing with court-ordered medical support obligations for children of divorced or separated parents. The “National Medical Support Notice” will notify you of your obligation to withhold pay when necessary to enroll a noncustodial parent’s child in an employer-provided healthcare plan. Although new regulations were to be […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released new guidance explaining the rights of the blind and visually impaired under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new guidance, issued in a question-and-answer format, covers when a vision impairment qualifies as a disability, questions employers may ask applicants and employees about their vision impairments, the circumstances […]
Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it has submitted a proposed rule to the Federal Register that would require employers to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Under this rule, employers governed by the NLRA would have to post an employee rights notice in the same […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released final security standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) for protecting individually identifiable health information. The standards require health insurers and certain healthcare providers and clearinghouses to establish procedures to protect the confidentiality of electronically maintained or transmitted health information. […]