Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Recruiting is changing at a rapid pace. Some organizations are abandoning traditional methods for social media; some think software can do a better job than people.
Employers are understandably nervous about the transitional reinsurance fee, which health insurers and employer health plans must pay from 2014 through 2016. The fee will be collected by HHS, even though the states will tailor their own risk adjustment programs. It must be paid annually. Plans will probably make their first payment for 2014 a […]
To prevent the consequences from imprecise employee handbook language, employers should regularly review their handbooks and written policies. Since wage and hour lawsuits make up a significant part of litigation, W&H provisions can make a difference as you draft or review your employee handbook. Wage-and-hour related provisions should include pay details, safe harbor and state […]
An employer’s random alcohol testing of probationary employees did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite federal agency guidance to the contrary, a federal district court has ruled (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United States Steel Corp., No. 10–12 (W.D. Penn. Feb. 20, 2013)). EEOC sued on behalf of a class of employees, arguing […]
We are an accounting firm that frequently hires area college students to intern for short periods throughout the year. We recently received a few outstanding applications from foreign students attending the local college. Can we hire foreign students as interns? The short answer is that yes, foreign students are eligible for paid employment off campus, […]
True or False: An employer is free to fire a pregnant employee once she has exhausted all her leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The most accurate answer: It depends. The FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for the birth of a child. On the other […]
A newly introduced bill would require the U.S. Department of Labor to follow a rule it wants to impose on federal contractors. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is in the final stages of a rulemaking that would require federal contractors to aim to have workers with disabilities make up 7 percent of their […]
A reasonable jury could conclude that an employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it failed to hire a deaf lifeguard, said the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning a lower court’s decision. The case, Keith v. County of Oakland (2013 WL 115647, No. 11–2276 (6th Cir. Jan. 10, 2013)) involved Nicholas Keith, […]
Employers paid more than $400 million to resolve discrimination cases filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in fiscal 2012, according to data released by the agency Jan. 28. Among private-sector workers, retaliation, race and sex discrimination, respectively, were the most common discrimination charges. Other highlights from the EEOC’s fiscal 2012 statistical summary: 99,412 […]
Regulations requiring federal contractors to implement disability hiring goals will be issued in April 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor announced last week. A year ago, DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs proposed a mandate that would require contractors to aim to have individuals with disabilities make up 7 percent of their workforce. The […]
Employers can’t be instantly ready for how health reform will transform their health plans in 2014; they have to do all the heavy lifting in 2013 in order to achieve preparedness, an attorney from the Epstein Becker & Green law firm said on Dec. 19. He advised employers to see health reform-driven coverage changes in […]