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In the November 2005 issue of the California Employer Advisor, we reported on a case that highlighted the tension between the requirements of California disability bias law, the state Compassionate Use Law, and the federal Controlled Substance Act, which criminalizes drug use and possession. The case involved an employee who was refused employment after he tested positive […]
Due to some ambiguity in model government language explaining the interplay of the Affordable Care Act with COBRA coverage, the Obama administration has both proposed an update to model COBRA notices and provided a new special enrollment opportunity for COBRA qualified beneficiaries (QBs) to enroll in marketplace coverage. Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor […]
By Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR Managing Editor, HR Daily Advisor Just My E-pinion Big surprise—health care costs are going up. In our recent survey, 56% reported annual costs per employee in the $5,000-10,000 range (compared to 47% in last year’s survey), and 18% reported costs of over $10,000 per year (compared to 12 % in […]
On Monday, July 19, the Federal Register published interim final regulations from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury requiring new health plans beginning on or after September 23, 2010, to cover certain evidence-based preventive care without cost sharing. In other words, plans cannot charge patients copayments, coinsurance, or […]
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the number of workers with injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work edged down in 2000, continuing a steady decline since 1992. Approximately 1.7 million injuries and illnesses occurred in 2000, a drop of about 2.3% from 1999. Some workers, however, continue to have high […]
In other wage and hour news, the Industrial Welfare Commission has announced the creation of two new wage boards. The boards will be responsible for establishing wage orders for the on-site construction, mining, drilling and logging industry and for the computer industry. Nominations for the construction, mining, drilling and logging industry wage board must be […]
A California Court of Appeal has ruled that employment decisions made by religious institutions about ministerial employees, like clergy members, are not covered by state anti-discrimination laws. The case was brought by a female chaplain at Chapman University. The chaplain claimed that her hours were cut back in retaliation for reporting incidents of alleged sexual […]
The Department of Labor has put into place controversial regulations that would let states use unemployment insurance money to fund family and medical leave. The new rules broaden the scope of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, so that workers could receive up to 12 weeks of paid leave if they take time off […]
In a remarkably last-minute fashion, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued final regulations protecting health care providers who withhold medical care based on conflicting moral beliefs. The rule, which covers federally funded health care providers, takes effect January 18, 2009 — the required 30 days after its under-the-wire December 19 […]