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Employer Violated COBRA by Not Sending Notice After Reduction in Hours Hikes Premium

An employer/plan administrator erred by thinking that because it automatically kept employees covered under its health plan when their hours were reduced, there was no need to provide a COBRA election notice, a federal district court in Maryland ruled. The fact that the reduction in hours resulted in an increase in their premiums constituted a […]

Seahawks’ Lynch follows NFL policy, adds to absurdity of Super Bowl media day

Super Bowl media day is a complete circus. Everyone knows that. Sure, players and coaches of the two participating teams are made available to answer questions from the “media.” And sure, there are some respected journalists and analysts (which includes former NFL players) who ask “football questions” about this Sunday’s big game. But Super Bowl […]

Do You Use a Fitness-For-Duty Certification After FMLA Leave?

Employers have come up with dozens of methods for ensuring the proper administration of Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and minimizing its abuse. It’s important to ensure that employees who return to work are truly ready—and that the leave is administered in a way that is fair and legal for all employees. One such […]

Does Your Leadership Training Emphasize These 4 Key Traits for 21st Century Leaders?

Too many companies may be facing a gap between the leadership they have now and the leadership perspective they will need for critical roles in the future, as faster communications, shifting demographics, and countless other changes make the business landscape uncertain and ambiguous. “There are some aspects of leadership that are timeless, like vision, intelligence, […]

Changes to Forms 5500 Ring in the New, Keep Some of the Old

Preparing employer benefit plans’ annual filings to federal agencies can be detailed and time-consuming. A review of recent changes to the 2014 Form 5500 series indicates this process could become even more laborious for some plans, as the government seeks more data disclosure. The Form 5500 is used by multiple government agencies (the U.S. Department […]

5 Secrets for Effective Long-Term Staffing

In an article published on HR.BLR.com®, recruiting expert Miranda Nash emphasized the importance of long-term staffing and provided 5 tips on how to handle it effectively.

Size of Your Workspace? Depends on the Time of Day

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Connecticut facility, executives of Deloitte touted their innovative workspace concept that will have junior and senior executives “rubbing elbows” in collaboration—literally! The company’s space in the building is much below the usual allotment for the number of employees. How will the 1,300 workers all fit?

Changes to New York’s wage theft act bring good, bad news for employers

by Paul J. Sweeney An amendment to New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) removes a requirement that private-sector employers provide wage rate notices to current employees by February 1 of each year. The WTPA requires private-sector employers to provide written wage rate notices to employees and imposes penalties for noncompliance. Until the change was […]

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E-Verify = increased government scrutiny

by Christine D. Mehfoud The government agencies responsible for immigration-related matters are talking to each other. They are monitoring your E-Verify use and referring anomalies for investigation.   Companies participating in E-Verify expose themselves to increased government scrutiny. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) E- Verify Monitoring & Compliance Branch (M&C) regularly monitors use of the […]