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Heads of federal agencies would have the authority to reimburse employees for the taxes imposed on reimbursements of travel or transportation expenses their domestic partners incur when accompanying them on a business trip, under a bill introduced in the U.S. House on Nov. 18 — the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (H.R. 3485). The […]
Litigation Value: Nothing too outrageous last night, but are we seeing the beginnings of a couple of sexual harassment claims for Jim and Val? Another week has gone by, and our favorite paper and printer sales team has heroically managed to continue to avoid discussing the bizarre behavior of their CEO at his party a […]
It’s the season of cardboard cupid decorations festooning cubicles and desks sporting little bowls of heart-shaped candies inscribed with messages such as, “Be Mine,” and “Love.” Valentine’s Day can provide a fun break from winter blahs around the office, but it’s also a reminder of a potential legal hazard — office romance. Employers struggle to […]
The departments implementing health reform can turn around a project when they are under the gun. Responding to concerns that the new “summary of benefits and coverage” (SBC) mandated by the health reform law is redundant, HHS, DOL and Treasury/IRS quickly turned around a final rule that eases some SBC requirements. The final rule and […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commissionwill hold a public meeting to discuss pregnancy discrimination and caregiver issues on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) at agency headquarters, 131 M Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. In accordance with the Sunshine Act, the meeting is open for public observation of the Commission’s deliberations. At the meeting, […]
Last week’s epinion by BLR CEO Dan Oswald concerning the Penn State and Joe Paterno garnered perhaps the widest variety of responses—pro and con—of anything we’ve written about. By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor There was, however, one resounding commonality. Overwhelmingly, readers showed distain for the manner of Paterno’s termination—over the phone […]
Many employers try hard to curtail employee claims against them, or at least to channel such claims away from the courts and into less costly forums. Some have done this by forcing employees to promise not to file a class action suit; others allow class actions, but require that they be resolved through arbitration. The […]
Most employment laws include provisions protecting employees from vindictive managers who would otherwise punish them for exercising their rights. The Fair Labor Standards Act is no exception. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division takes the anti-retaliation provisions of the FLSA seriously enough that it released a fact sheet (WHD Fact Sheet #77A) in December […]
As a follow-up to its “Section 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire Interim Report,” the IRS will host a phone forum March 6. The phone forum will be hosted by Monika Templeman, Director of Employee Plans Examinations at the IRS, along with IRS employees Janice Gore and Rhonda Migdail. Submit any questions you have about the Interim […]
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 […]