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Benefits administrators can be forgiven if their response to the IRS’ latest plan to issue guidance on cafeteria plans is “Promises, Promises!” Finalizing cafeteria plan regulations is the most far-reaching benefits-related item on the IRS 2011-2012 Priority Guidance Plan. The agency proposed café plan regs in 2007 and has been saying that it will finalize […]
Under federal employee benefits law, fiduciaries of employee benefit plans must administer and manage their plans prudently and in the interest of the plan’s participants and beneficiaries. In carrying out these important duties, plan fiduciaries often rely heavily on pension consultants and other professionals for help. But sometimes these consultants fail to disclose potential conflicts […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered what employers can do about heated political discussions in the workplace. Today, sample policies regarding political activity plus an introduction to the indispensible 50×50 (50 Employment Laws in 50 States). Here’s sample Political Activity Policy number one: Employees are not to participate in election activities while working and are not […]
A psychiatrist suffering from attention deficit disorder has won $902,000 after suing his employer under state anti-discrimination laws for failing to accommodate his own psychological problems. Stanley Swenson Jr. worked at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for 15 years. He claimed his condition made it difficult for him to keep up with patient charts and […]
After increasing hammering from conservatives, the White House looks like it is ready to compromise on health reform’s contraception mandate. The administration had included contraceptives and sterilization in its list of preventive services all (except the few grandfathered) plans must cover starting plan years in August 2012. It had offered a year-long delay to religious […]
A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that during the first five months of 2002, health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored plans rose by 12.7%. This represents the fastest rate of increase since 1990, when rates jumped by 14%. The study showed that employers are bearing the brunt of the recent increases, and that […]
The California Department of Veterans’ Affairs escaped liability for harassment one of its registered nurses endured from a resident of the veterans’ home where she worked. Although this is a victory for employers, the state Assembly is considering legislation that would hold employers liable when clients or customers harass employees. We’ll keep you posted as […]
In the first of three cases the U.S. Supreme Court is considering this term that involve the Americans with Disabilities Act, the high court has issued a ruling that will make it harder for workers to prove they are entitled to reasonable accommodation under federal disabilities law. However, as we’ll explain, the new decision, which […]
Governor Schwarzenegger has signed new laws changing the information you must include on employee wage statements and clearing up how large the type must be on your whistleblower posters. Join us this fall in San Francisco for the California Employment Law Update conference, a 3-day event that will teach you everything you need to know […]
According to its annual report issued November 16, 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 93,277 private-sector discrimination charges in fiscal year (FY) 2009, its second highest total in the past 20 years. In addition, the EEOC obtained record relief of almost $300 million for alleged discrimination victims through administrative enforcement. Breakdown of Charges […]