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White House Expands Domestic Partner Benefits

President Barack Obama recently issued a memo directing federal agencies to extend benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees to the extent permitted by current law. The memo begins: For far too long, many of our Government’s hard-working, dedicated LGBT employees have been denied equal access to the basic rights and benefits their […]

Administaff Pays $115,000 For Religious Bias

Administaff, Inc., a nationwide company that provides full-service HR services to small and medium-size businesses, has agreed to pay $115,000 and furnish substantial remedial relief to settle a religious harassment lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Baltimore. According to the EEOC’s suit, Texas-based Administaff and Conn-x, LLC, a Florida-based cable service […]

Special: Forbes, Gore, and Meeting HR Challenges

“I used to be the next president of the United States,” Al Gore quipped, addressing a 10,000-person crowd at the Society for Human Resource Management’s recent Annual Conference and Exposition in San Diego. As the laughter died down, he added, “I don’t think that’s very funny.” Steve Forbes, the other headliner at the conference, says, […]

The Scranton Vampire Chronicles

Litigation Value: Settling various claims related to Dwight’s bat hunting = $30,000; replacing shredded textbook = $100; convincing your coworker you’re a vampire = priceless. Given that a colleague of mine has already thoroughly covered the employment law issues in last night’s repeat, let’s rewind to one of my favorite episodes from Season 3 — […]

Employers Facing Increased Scrutiny over Worker Classification

by Robert C. Nagle Employers can expect increased enforcement efforts from federal and state labor and tax authorities over what’s believed to be a rising tide of misclassification of employees as “independent contractors.” There can be significant payroll savings associated with classifying workers as contractors. For example, employers typically aren’t required to withhold or pay […]

Family Leave Beyond FMLA—What’s Really Happening?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady For years, BLR® has surveyed HR and benefits professionals to see what benefits they are actually offering to employees. This year, we have expanded our survey program by conducting a series of brief, targeted benefits surveys. The findings of these surveys are analyzed and presented free to all […]

Novartis Enters Settlement Agreement for Remaining Members of Gender Bias Suit

Following a massive $250 million punitive damages verdict from a Manhattan jury, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has agreed to settle the remaining claims in a recent gender bias suit. Pending final approval by the district judge, the settlement would be more than $152 million and would cover the remainder of the 5,600 claims filed in […]

Single Key to Attracting the Best Hires

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered the indispensable role of the job description in attracting the best candidates. Today, how to prepare for the critical job interview, and some great news—your job descriptions are already written. The Interview—it’s not a time to chat and visit, it’s a time to dig and investigate. Preparing is a two-step […]

OSHA Administrator, Employers Group Spar Over Proposed Changes to OSH Act

A proposal to increase Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) penalties now being considered by Congress will not result in any actual improvements in workplace safety and health, a representative of a coalition of employer groups testified on Tuesday, July 13, before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor. Jonathan Snare […]