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Supervisors Are Critical to Safety and Health Compliance

In a BLR® webinar titled “OSHA Inspection: How to Prepare for a Surprise Visit and Minimize your Liability Risks,” Tracy L. Moon Jr., a practicing partner at Fisher & Phillips, LLP in Atlanta, and an authorized OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer, explained the importance of supervisor engagement in and ownership of safety and health compliance. […]

After setting goals, be vigilant in achieving them

by Dan Oswald If you’re like me, it’s time to turn your attention to 2014. As we move through the fourth quarter of 2013 and can see the end in sight, our thoughts turn to what we want to accomplish in the coming year. At our company, we’re in the midst of our budgeting process […]

Some Self-funded Plans Could Escape Reform Reinsurance Fees

Self-funded plans that are also self-administered will be made exempt from paying reinsurance contributions under the health care reform law for the 2015 and 2016 benefit years, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services said in final program integrity rules. The promised relief will occur in future rulemaking, according to the preamble of the program […]

Age Discrimination: Evidence May Be Subtle But Still Sufficient

Age discrimination in the workplace can be subtle, but subtle doesn’t mean insufficient, says Attorney Joan Farrell, BLR® Senior Legal Editor. And with Boomers nearing retirement, it’s a looming issue. Yes, says Farrell, we’re all aghast when we read about direct evidence of discrimination, like the manager who allegedly said he fired an employee because […]

What Are the Typical Obstacles to an Effective Safety and Health Program?

After evaluating the safety and health program in your business, it’s time to work toward solutions for any of the issues, obstacles, and problems that arose during the evaluation. Typically, there are certain obstacles facing the management and supervisors of this plan. And those tend to differ from those that the employees working under the […]

Lessons from the U.S. government shutdown

By Julia Kennedy It should be a relief to many employers (and employees) that their company has just one board of directors, with no second house to blockade budgets, freeze operating funds, or send large portions of the workforce home. Since an estimated 800,000 U.S. government employees were “furloughed” or required to work without pay […]

Retirement Plans with Auto-enrollment Found to Be Lowering Employer Matches

If your retirement plan committee is satisfied with the automatic enrollment policy in place but has expressed concerns about the rising cost of the employer match that a growing participant base can bring, new research may provide a window into how other employer plan sponsors are handling this dilemma.   Automatically enrolling employees in company retirement […]

Church Plans Sue HHS Over Contraceptive Mandate

The Southern Baptist Convention’s health and financial benefits entity has filed a putative class-action lawsuit against the health care reform law’s contraceptive mandate on behalf of church plans. The suit contends the religious liberty of the organizations covered by GuideStone Financial Resources (which arranges health coverage and retirement benefits for clergy and others) is violated […]

Second City Says Humor Drives Engagement in Workforce Training

The stellar alumni list includes many of the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” (Akyroyd, Belushi, Murray, and Radner), as well as Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jane Lynch, and Steve Carrell of “The Office.” But now, the organization has branched out into workplace training, using humor to engage participants, of course. “Humor gets people […]