Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Employers and plan administrators hoping clarity will soon dispel the confusing tangle of divergent laws governing same-sex marriage and how they must address it in their benefit plans and HR policies have longer to wait. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 31 issued a ruling in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Department […]
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the number of injuries and illnesses in private industry workplaces continued to edge down in 2001. The 2001 rate of 5.7 injury-and-illness cases per 100 full-time workers was not only an 8% decline from 2000 but also the lowest rate since the agency began reporting this […]
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled an employee could sue for bias based only on incidents that occurred within the time period for filing a lawsuit. Now the Ninth Circuit has taken this decision one step further, declaring that employees cannot sue over employment decisions that occurred outside of the limitations period, even if […]
New rules just put in effect will make e-mails more useful as evidence in lawsuits, but e-mail systems costlier to maintain. See box below for information on a special audio conference explaining this and other key federal employment law changes for 2007. It was the smoking gun that blew away the giant Arthur Andersen accounting […]
A recent Gallup study shows the higher the compensation, the happier the employee. Happy employees build business success. But where’s the limit? A classic resource may help you find it. Everyone wants happy employees, right? Happy employees are productive, inventive, and supportive of all you do. Yesterday, we gave you one tool to make them […]
In the November 2002 article, we reported on a California appeals court ruling that veganism–which is the refusal to eat and use any animal products–doesn’t qualify as a religion under state workplace discrimination laws. Now the California Supreme Court has refused the vegan’s plea to review the appellate court’s decision. As a result of the […]
A group of truckers sought back overtime pay from their employer, Overnite Transportation Co. The truck drivers argued that when the state Legislature passed A.B. 60 in 1999, reinstating daily overtime—following its repeal in 1997—it abolished a previous “motor carrier” exemption from overtime for workers whose hours of service are regulated by the Department of […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule that would force 401(k) plan administrators to report compensation they derive directly and indirectly from their services. In addition, the rule would require plan administrators to disclose in writing potential conflicts of interest to plan fiduciaries, namely employers. The regulation’s main purpose is to […]
A plan to streamline and strengthen enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), has been signed by U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Attorney General John Ashcroft. The document delegates the Department of Labor’s USERRA responsibilities to the Veterans’ Employment Solicitor, and the Attorney General’s USERRA responsibilities to the […]
The Internal Revenue Service has just issued temporary and proposed regulations designed to reduce the tax filing burden for small business owners. As of Jan. 1, 2006, eligible small employers will be able to file the new Form 944 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return) once a year, rather than filing Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal […]