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Feds Loosen Contraceptive Coverage Rules in Response to Religious Objections

To further accommodate religious organizations outraged over a health care reform requirement mandating the coverage of contraceptive care, three federal agencies — Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services — jointly issued final regulations Feb. 1 that would exempt more group health plans and policies established or maintained by certain religious organizations from the requirement, […]

Bulletin Item: New ADA and Health Care Guides Available

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a practical new guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The guide is geared toward small employers, but contains useful information regardless of employer size. Topics covered include: who is protected; avoiding mistakes during interviews; what questions you can ask about a medical condition; and more. For a […]

California State Agencies Over Report Stimulus Jobs

California has received $12.8 billion dollars in federal stimulus funds since February of 2009. State agencies have reported over 54,000 jobs created with these funds. The problem? A recent report by the California Bureau of State Audits found that the job creation numbers are not being recorded accurately. The December 21 audit report looked at […]

Tips to Navigating the Hiring of Family and Friends

It’s frequent in companies of all sizes—but especially for privately held companies—for owners or managers to hire friends and family. In previous posts, we discussed some reasons for this and also talked about some of the dangers of nepotism in the workplace.

News Notes: New Free Information for Employers on Discrimination Laws

A new fact sheet summarizing federal employment-related laws is available from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It’s geared toward smaller businesses, but contains a helpful overview of legal obligations that could be of interest to all employers. It covers subjects such as which employers are subject to federal employment laws, how employees are counted for […]

Criminal Histories: What Not to Ask

Knowing what questions to ask applicants is key to finding the right people for your company. But it’s just as important to know what questions not to ask to avoid potential lawsuits. For example, asking job applicants about personal information like marital status, sexual orientation, and pregnancies can be one of the quickest routes to […]

News Notes: Circuit City Arbitration Agreement Struck Down Again

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has issued another in a string of rulings invalidating mandatory arbitration agreements used by electronics retailer Circuit City. In the latest case, Circuit City employee Paul Mantor claimed the company indicated to employees that they risked their future with the retailer if they chose not to […]

Top Execs Have Confidence Despite Global Volatility

Deloitte Consulting, LLP’s business confidence report 2016 reveals, for the second year in a row, that America’s top leaders, chief executive officers (CXOs), and chief executives-in-waiting (CXOWs—those who are next in line to the C-suite) have a very high level of confidence despite global volatility.