Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The Treasury Department and the IRS have issued additional guidance on Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs, the recently authorized tax-exempt savings accounts employees can set up to pay medical expenses. For more information, go to the Treasury Department website.
On February 20, 2003, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board held a public meeting to consider a petition filed by the California Labor Federation to alter the requirements of the state’s ergonomic rule. At the meeting, the standards board voted to convene an advisory committee to consider the petition, which seeks to drop […]
Wal-Mart is facing what could be the largest discrimination lawsuit ever brought against a private U.S. employer. Six female employees of Wal-Mart have filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco charging the retailing giant with widespread discrimination against women. They are asking that the case be certified as a class action on behalf […]
A California law curtailing some employers’ rights to oppose their employees’ unionizing efforts is superseded by the National Labor Relations Act, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has held. The ruling could bring welcome relief to employers facing union organization efforts.
It has only been a month since the new federal Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act was signed into law, but the new tax cut rates are already in effect…and employers must race to adjust their payrolls. As of January 1st, the Social Security Tax withholding rate has been reduced from 6.2% […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Just My E-Pinion In the past 2 years, executive comp has been battered as never before. From the general public to Congress—and don’t forget shareholders—there is increased scrutiny over the amount of compensation and its relation to results. High compensation—some would say obscenely high—is what attracts and keeps […]
The Labor Department, in response to strong opposition from farm families, is revising its proposed rule restricting child labor on farms. As part of a package of child labor reforms unveiled Sept. 2, 2011, Labor proposed narrowing the so-called parental exemption that allows children of any age who are employed by their parent, or a […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an employee doesn’t have to include sufficient evidence to prove their bias claims at the time they file their lawsuit, and that such evidence can be developed later on as more facts are discovered. The new ruling involved Akos Swierkiewicz, a 53-year-old of Hungarian descent, who claimed that […]