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Obama unveils compromise on health reform contraception rule

The Obama administration released a compromise plan February 1 on how contraception is covered under the healthcare reform law, but it’s not clear whether foes of the original requirement will approve. Under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, contraception is included as a free preventive service. The original rule exempted religious groups that employ mostly […]

Feds Loosen Contraceptive Coverage Rules in Response to Religious Objections

To further accommodate religious organizations outraged over a health care reform requirement mandating the coverage of contraceptive care, three federal agencies — Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services — jointly issued final regulations Feb. 1 that would exempt more group health plans and policies established or maintained by certain religious organizations from the requirement, […]

COBRA Penalties Not Needed When QB Got ‘Free’ Coverage, 8th Circuit Affirms

An employer/plan administrator that tried to make good on a COBRA administrative error got more reinforcement that its efforts greatly minimized its legal liability. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the fact that the aggrieved qualified beneficiary received two years of free health coverage effectively cancelled out any need to impose penalties for […]

5 Steps for Effective Training

Yesterday, we discussed how to quell the discomfort many feel about facing new challenges and how to set up an effective training environment, followed by opportunities to put the new knowledge quickly to work. Now let’s cover the training itself. How do you structure a lesson that will be both understood and retained? For answers, […]

How Well Do You Prepare for Training?

As a trainer, you’re aware that you may often face a hostile audience, pulled away from the comfort zone of current jobs and asked to learn something new … perhaps without removing any of the previous load. “Quotas and deadlines still must be met,” employees are often told by their supervisors, “and you have to […]

Market Pricing—Comp Key in 2013

Daniels, Senior Consultant at Keating Advisors, LLC, offered her suggestions at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR and HR Hero. Getting Market Pricing Right Market Pricing is the process of analyzing external salary survey data to establish the worth of jobs as represented by market data, based upon the “scope” of the organization (geography, industry, […]

Stay Market Competitive, Retain Top Talent in 2013

Daniels, Senior Consultant at Keating Advisors, LLC, offered her suggestions at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR and HR Hero. How to Conduct a Base Pay Structure Review Daniels says a well-designed and effective base pay system should be: Supported by an agreed-upon organizational compensation philosophy Supported by clear compensation administration policies Driven by up-to-date […]

Social media in the workplace: What is California’s AB 1844?

Social media in the workplace can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, employers seek to restrict its use by employees. On the other, employers are finding that it can be a great tool in employment screening. But where does public data cross privacy boundaries? What can and can’t California employers do when it comes […]

Draw me a butt

Litigation Value: Frank can collect from Pam and Dwight the cost of cleaning paint off his truck. “Shouldn’t someone get fired for this?” That’s the question Pam asked while confronting the large orange butts that someone (Frank) spray-painted on her warehouse mural in “Vandalism,” the second of two new episodes tonight. Of course someone should get fired, […]