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The Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services have issued guidelines explaining how to comply with the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act’s annual notice requirement. The notice explains that mastectomy-related services must be covered under health plans. It can be sent alone or with the summary plan description, a newsletter, […]
Meeting COBRA election notice requirements can be tricky – and even a minor oversight can potentially be expensive. A recent opinion letter from the Department of Labor clarifies the process for providing COBRA election notices to households with more than one qualified beneficiary. If several beneficiaries live at the same address, you can send their […]
Last March we reported on changes coming to the COBRA rules. Here is a quick rundown on the highlights of the updated regulations that take effect January 1.
In an important new ruling, the California Supreme Court has held that employees who are harassed by co-workers cannot seek damages from the employees who actually did the harassing. We’ll look at the new ruling and provide an overview of just who can be held liable in this rapidly changing area of the law.
The U.S. Supreme Court left intact a landmark federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that has forced many employers to reassess how they deal with temporary workers. The federal court had ruled that Microsoft improperly treated as many as 10,000 temporary employees as independent contractors and illegally denied them the option of participating […]
Bank of America recently announced that it had implemented a new Adopt-An-ATM program. Employees who volunteer for the program are asked to clean their adopted machines, remove trash and trim surrounding shrubs—all on their own time without pay. California Labor Commissioner Marcy Saunders responded to the bank’s announcement by demanding that the program be abolished […]
A federal court in Delaware has ruled that Hanover Foodsviolated federal law by refusing to offer COBRA benefits to a worker who was fired for leaving onion powder out of a batch of ravioli. The company claimed that Heather Lloynd tried to sabotage the ravioli because she was assigned to work with an employee she […]
Albertson’s grocery chain recently settled eight class-action lawsuits filed by workers who allege the company didn’t pay them for work performed at the end of their shifts or on their days off. The employees claim they feared being fired if they reported the off-the-clock work. Albertson’s has denied wrongdoing, but agreed to take a $37 […]
As the baby boom generation enters its 40s and 50s, the number of workers protected under age discrimination laws continues to skyrocket. And while you’re probably aware of the most common legal issues involving older employees – such as discrimination and mandatory retirement – one recent ruling points out an unexpected and potentially expensive threat. […]
How do you deal with an employee who’s disruptive and can’t get along with co-workers? The obvious answer may be a warning or other discipline. But the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal says employees like these may have a mental disability protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and that instead of disciplining […]