Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Health Care gets the bulk of the benefits attention these days, but what’s happening with other benefits, and what are your competitors offering? Sabbaticals? Free Food? PTO? Flex? Let’s find out what’s happening in the real world. For years, BLR has surveyed HR, compensation, and benefits professionals to find trends in benefits. We appreciate your […]
By Mark I. Schickman California employers have been waiting since October 2008 for the California Supreme Court to issue its ruling in the Brinker Restaurant case, clarifying whether employers must “ensure” that employees take meal and rest breaks or simply “provide” those breaks. Today, the court unanimously served up a major victory to California employers […]
By Kelley E. Kaufman, Esq. These days, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is on the lookout for both inflexible leave of absence policies and no-fault attendance policies. While few employers welcome news of a targeted enforcement initiative, the best defense is a good offense. According to the EEOC, the Americans With Disabilities Act requires […]
The outcome in this case should remind employers that even with stop-loss (S-L) in place, a self-insured health plan is risky business. Trouble for the Claire’s Stores health plan started in the form of a premature birth, which generated about $1 million in charges. Under the terms of its S-L contract, the plan had to […]
The California Supreme Court has just released its long-awaited decision in the Brinker case, ruling that employers must relieve employees of all duty during meal periods – but need not ensure that no work is done during that time. For more on the case, check out the California Courts press release on the breaking decision.
In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Christine V. Walters offered tips on legal dangers associated with volunteers, interns, and independent contractors. Today, more of her tips, plus an introduction to the 50×50, a unique guide to 50 employment laws in 50 states.< Walters, who is a consultant with the FiveL Company in Westminster, MD, gave her recommendations […]
Employers need to spell out their policies for off-hours use of mobile devices for work purposes or they risk racking up unnecessary overtime. Mobile devices have worked their way into virtually every area of our lives, both at work and at home. You may even be reading this blog on a smart phone or tablet […]
When you experience a weather closing, how do you handle pay for your employees? Must you pay everyone? What are the differences between non-exempt and exempt employee pay?
Retaliation is now the leading basis for charges against employers, and it remains the stupidest of all charges. Stupid because most retaliation charges can be avoided if managers and supervisors just think before they act.
As peak vacation season nears and employees begin jockeying with coworkers to take off the days and weeks they want, employers may be wondering if their time-off policies are fair, simple, and effective or if they complicate work schedules unnecessarily. What’s more important — logging a specified number of hours every weekday, or producing an […]