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FMLA— HR’s Own Personal Migraine

FMLA—HR’s own personal migraine. (Migraine people, says attorney Stacie Caraway, may have terrible headaches, but never so bad that they don’t know exactly how many days and hours of FMLA they have left.) Successful management of FMLA is very much about careful attention to forms and schedules. In today’s Advisor, Caraway offers tips for getting […]

Release of Medicare Claims Data Expected to Help Plan Sponsors

The feds’ decision to release Medicare claims data for quality measurement should help employers and individuals alike make more informed decisions down the road, advancing the goals of health care quality and value, a plan sponsor representative noted. Importantly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final rules apparently will allow the selected data […]

PPACA Foe Proposes Repeal and Replacement with Market-driven Tools

Critics say health reform is part of a disturbing trend of the government displacing free markets, and they note that it looks unlikely to curtail spiraling health costs. Well, now Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) – a freshman House member – has introduced a bill that would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) […]

December 30 Deadline Looms in Vote for Top ‘Blawg’

Time is running out to cast your votes in the ABA Journal’s fifth Annual Blawg 100 contest to choose the most popular law blogs. To vote for your favorites, go to abajournal.com/blawg100 by December 30. The blogs are divided into 12 categories, and voters are allowed 12 votes. But you are allowed to vote more […]

Connecticut Releases Guidance on State’s Paid Sick Leave Law

by Jonathan C. Sterling Earlier this year, Connecticut became the first state to enact a law that requires employers to provide paid sick leave for employees. The law takes effect January 1, and the Connecticut Department of Labor recently published guidance on its website to assist employers in complying with the new law. Read the […]

HR’s Worst Mistake—The Trigger-Happy ‘No’

Special from the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, Las Vegas The number one mistake I see is untrained supervisors responding negatively to employees’ requests for reasonable accommodation, said attorney Mark Schickman, They just say “no” without any interactive discussion. Even if you’re sure there’s no hope of accommodation, you have to have the interactive discussion, he […]

Lessons from the Duck Blind

This past weekend, my son and I went duck hunting. Despite growing up in a rural area in the Midwest where hunting was a way of life, I never cared for it when I was young. Among the reasons was that it was brutally cold in Iowa in the winter. But, my 15-year-old son has […]

Vermont Minimum Wage Rising to $8.46 Per Hour

The minimum wage in Vermont will increase to $8.46 per hour from $8.15 per hour on January 1, 2012, according to a statement from the Vermont Department of Labor. The state minimum wage increases at the same rate as the Consumer Price Index, as calculated in August, for the preceding year or at five percent, […]

Could Layoffs Equal a Class Action?

This should come as no shock, but people don’t like to get fired. And when they do get fired, they look for someone else to blame. Guess who? “You fired me because I’m X (fill in the blank with the name of a protected class).”