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Is Your FMLA Poster Showing? March 8 is the Deadline

Employers covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act must have the U.S. Department of Labor’s poster hanging by COB March 8. In February, the U.S. Department of Labor issued new regulations that implement and clarifiy amendments to expand military leave entitlements under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In addition, the final rule: (1) […]

Firing 101 Part 1—Stop, Listen and Look

From a legal standpoint, terminations are the most dangerous actions managers take. In this video, HR Daily Advisor Editor Stephen Bruce talks about what you need to know to reduce your risk of lawsuits. This is Steve Bruce for the HR Daily Advisor. This is the first video in our Firing 101 series—Stop, Listen and […]

DOL Uses Demographics to Push Back Against Critics of Obama’s Minimum Wage Proposals

The Obama administration is working to keep its minimum wage hike proposal in the public eye, and simultaneously appears to be pushing back against critics who charge that raising the minimum wage would not help working families. On Feb. 28, the U.S. Department of Labor released a report detailing the demographic characteristics of minimum wage […]

PBGC Presages Solvency Trouble for Multiemployer Plans

There’s consternation about the future solvency of multiemployer plans and concerns about whether plan sponsors should expect higher insurance premiums as a result of three new reports from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. On Jan. 29, PBGC sent to Congress reports on the status of multiemployer pension plans it insures, the current effects of pension […]

New law streamlines MSP settlement process with on-line information (starting 2014)

Currently, Medicare beneficiaries who have pending claims with third parties responsible for their injuries face settlement delays. The parties cannot determine how much of the settlement is to be used to reimburse Medicare, because Medicare has not been prompt in providing information on the amounts of the benefits it claims to have paid. The result […]

Nurse’s High Anxiety Put Employer on FMLA Leave Notice

An employee walks visibly shaken into your human resources office. She is upset about a work reassignment and says she does not feel properly trained for the new position. She has an emotional meltdown in front of you: crying and shaking so severely that she requests an ambulance. You attempt to calm her and instruct […]

Suspicion of FMLA Abuse Does Not Justify Firing, Says Court

Just when you may have thought the road was clear to an “honest belief” defense that linked employee termination to suspected leave abuse under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a ruling has put the brakes on that notion. A California appellate court has issued a decision against a large auto retailer that should cause […]

Ignoring the Basics Can Lead to HR Failures

In yesterday’s CED, we offered tips for managing the basics of HR legal issues. Today, the rest of the tips and an introduction to a California-specific resource for your employee handbook policies. Once again, a tip of the CED hat to attorneys John K. Skousen and Christopher J. Boman, partners at the Irvine office of employment law […]

Funding Changes May Embolden Pension Investors to De-emphasize Risk

Many retirement plan sponsors and administrators are cheering the phase-in of reduced funding requirements that tie future company contributions to a 25-year average interest rate. Nonetheless, some experts predict that the changes may encourage investors in these plans to think less about hedging risk. A report Towers Watson issued, “The Implications of Funding Relief: What […]