Category: HR Management & Compliance

There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.

disability

Iowa Court Decision Blurs Definition of Disability in Workers’ Comp Cases

A recent decision from the Iowa Court of Appeals should cause Iowa employers to hit pause on routine decisions relating to workers’ compensation claimants. The decision, Vetter v. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, effectively dismantled the definition of “disability” for disability discrimination claims.

injury

ADA: Who Determines the Essential Functions of a Job?

An employee with a disability must demonstrate that he is able to perform the essential functions of his job, with or without reasonable accommodations, in order to be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But what exactly does “essential functions” mean? What are the essential functions of a particular job, and who determines […]

CBO: $194 billion deficit increase if key ACA subsidies end in 2017

by Jennifer Carson The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to offer plans with reduced deductibles, copayments, and other means of cost-sharing to certain people, depending on their income, who purchase plans through the ACA marketplaces. In turn, insurers receive federal payments arranged by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to cover the costs […]

nuclear

Was There Fallout from Nuclear Plant Employee’s ADA Claim?

Determining what is a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is meant to be an interactive process between the employer and the employee. However, after exerting significant amounts of energy in the process, one Illinois employer got a reaction it had hoped to avoid—a lawsuit.

teacher

Be Diligent and Thorough in the Interactive Process, Even When Employees Aren’t

Recently, the 7th Circuit—which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—issued an opinion underscoring the importance of diligence, thoroughness, and consistent communication when you interact with employees seeking accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and reiterating its position that the interactive process is a shared responsibility between employers and employees.

retirement

Retirement: The Unique Status of California’s Largest Employer

In a recent case, the court of appeal agreed with a public university, which also happens to be one of California’s largest employer, that certain laws regulating the retirement status and rights of peace officers do not apply to the university under its own retirement plan—even after the university reversed its own practice of complying […]

solar eclipse

Will the Solar Eclipse Disrupt Your Workplace?

On Monday August 21, 2017, in the middle of the workday, millions of people will abandon their jobs to gaze up at the skies and experience what might well be a once-in-a-lifetime event: a total eclipse of the sun. For those on the ground along an approximately 70-mile-wide path from Oregon to North Carolina, the […]