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Danger Zone—Myths and Assumptions Around Accommodation for Mental Disabilities

HR needs to be alert to the attitudes of supervisors and coworkers, says Eyres, who is managing partner of the Eyres Law Group LLP in Irvin, California. Here’s what your managers and supervisors are thinking: We only have to consider reasonable accommodations when the injury or illness is work-related. No, says Eyres, the source of […]

Fidelity® Study Finds Older Higher Ed Faculty Confident in their Retirement Savings, but Few Have Taken Action to Plan Income Strategy

BOSTON, October 9, 2013 — Fidelity Investments®, a leading provider of workplace retirement plans in the not-for-profit higher education market, today released the latest findings from its Higher Education Faculty Study(i), revealing that while eight in 10 (82 percent) pre-retiree faculty members (age 55+) are confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in […]

Corporate Pension Funding Highest in Five Years, Above 90 Percent for September

Two indicators of U.S. corporate pension health topped 90-percent funding ratios for September, a significant sign of improvement in the vitality of defined benefit plans. Mercer’s S&P 1500 Indicator Rises Funding levels of DB plans sponsored by Standard & Poor’s 1500 companies monitored monthly by human resources consultant Mercer improved in the latest month, reaching […]

‘Worker centers’ thriving in the absence of unions

by W. Scott McLellan I’m based in Austin, and as you may know, Texas is not exactly a hotbed of traditional labor unions. Unlike employers in other parts of the country, Texas employers have long enjoyed a degree of flexibility in operations and employee relations that unions can prevent. However, that flexibility can lead to […]

S.F. Ordinance Would Expand Flex Time Rights for Childcare

A new city ordinance would require employers doing business in San Francisco to consider flexible scheduling for workers with caregiving responsibilities. The city’s Board of Supervisors passed the Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance Oct. 1, and remains to be signed by the city’s mayor. It would amend the city’s administrative code to allow employees in San Francisco to […]

Case Study: Yes, Supervisors Can Be Personally Liable for Failing to Provide Required Training

Steve Early had no experience or prior training operating a forklift nor was he certified as a forklift operator. Nevertheless, on his first day of work at the AZ Company, he was assigned to operate a forklift. “There’s nothing to it,” his supervisor told him. “It’s just like driving a car.” “OK,” Early agreed. “I […]

How Big Is the Number? (True Cost of EE Healthcare?)

In yesterday’s Advisor, , consultant Karl Ahlrichs presented a wellness program that grabbed the interest of 93 percent of employees and spouses. Today, more of his wellness wisdom, plus an introduction to the all-things-HR-in-one website, HR.BLR.com®. How Big Is the Number? Most HR managers underestimate the full costs of employee health (or lack thereof), says […]

What is Your Executive Compensation Philosophy?

Executive compensation levels can set the tone for the competitiveness of the organization. How a company defines its executive compensation philosophy will determine how much is offered to executives, which will in turn influence the strategic direction of the organization. For example, does your organization strive to hire only people who perform higher than all […]

IRS: Bike-share Is Not a Qualified Transport Fringe Benefit

Bicycle share expenses — incurred, for example, when one dips a credit card into a pay kiosk on the street in order to rent a bicycle from a public bike rack — do not qualify as payment for transportation on “mass transit facilities,” as some have argued, nor do they constitute a “qualified bicycle commuting […]