Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Kathy Carlson A federal appeals court in Massachusetts ruled Thursday that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it prevents same-sex married couples from receiving benefits available to heterosexual married couples. The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled that in enacting DOMA, the federal government was intruding into domestic […]
Move over horoscopes, birthdays have a new prophetic power. According to a recent study, “The relative-age effect and career success: Evidence from corporate CEOs,” the month you were born in has a “long-lasting influence on career success.” The study, highlighted on Inc.com, found that babies born in March or April are more likely to become […]
by David McDonald In Canada, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia recently issued a decision narrowing the possibility for employers to use re-employment offers to support an argument that an estranged employee has failed to mitigate damages by refusing to come back to work.
by Heather L. Devine New Hampshire House Bill 440, which made several changes and clarifications to new-hire reporting requirements, goes into effect August 3. Most important, the new law requires employers to complete a new-hire report to the Department of Employment Security when a former employee has been rehired (regardless of whether she was laid […]
By now, most people have probably heard about Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who became America’s newest so-called “folk hero” after he told off a difficult passenger, grabbed a beer, and exited a plane via the inflatable emergency chute. We decided to ask several employment law attorneys — all members of the Employers Counsel […]
Special from World at Work, San Diego “I get lots of questions on sales compensation,” says consultant David Cichelli, “but the number one sticky wicket is always quotas, closely followed by long sales cycles, and mega orders.” Cichelli, who is Sr. Vice President at The Alexander Group, offered his tips at World at Work’s Total […]
A landmark Supreme Court ruling on relief available under ERISA in employee benefit cases is bringing cases back to life that we thought were dead and gone. In CIGNA v. Amara, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 16 ruled that ERISA’s enforcement provision allowing for “appropriate equitable relief” — ERISA Section 1132(a)(3) — aka Section […]
It’s no question that for most of us, what we do and where we do it are key elements of our identity. After all, if we’re working 40 hours per week, that means about half of our waking lives is spent working, and for many professionals, it’s much more—not to mention the amount of time […]
ERISA can be the key to upholding benefit decisions based on plan language before money is paid, but it may be far less helpful once overpaid money goes out the door, particularly when the plan is indemnity-based with no provider contracts. This situation became evident in Int’l Longshore & Warehouse Union v. Sharp Surgery Center, […]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued the long awaited notice of proposed rulemaking on Employer Shared Responsibility for Healthcare—better known as Play or Pay—that takes effect on January 1, 2014. The IRS has also issued a Q&A on the requirements of the proposed regulations, says BLR® Senior Legal Editor Martin Simon, JD. In the […]