Most Popular

Texting While Driving Now Illegal in West Virginia

West Virginia has become the 41st state to ban texting while driving. The law, which went into effect July 1, makes it a primary offense to text with a handheld cell phone while driving. Because it’s a primary offense, violators can be pulled over and cited. Texting already was a secondary offense, meaning someone violating […]

Severance Programs: ERISA Traps For The Unwary

Your voluntary separation incentive plan may involve even more paperwork and expenses than you think. According to a new federal government opinion, severance programs that aren’t directly linked to retirement can still be considered pension plans covered by detailed ERISA compliance requirements. 400+ pages of state-specific, easy-read reference materials at your fingertips—fully updated! Check out […]

Make Sure Your Time is Spent on What Is Most Important

Time is a limited resource. No matter how hard you try, you can’t pack more hours into a day. There are 24 hours each and every day, and there is simply nothing you can do to change that. Time just rolls on. How often do you catch yourself wishing you had more time to do […]

California: Marijuana Referendum Goes Down in Ashes

by Mark Schickman, Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP Politically, California bucked the national move to the right, reelecting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Barbara Boxer — two poster children for the perceived overreaches of the Obama administration. In the governor’s race, it rejected the claimed business savvy of former e-Bay CEO Meg Whitman, instead […]

UPS to Drop Dual-covered Spouses in 2014

United Parcel Service plans to remove thousands of spouses from its health plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere. The health care reform law requires large employers to offer coverage to employees and their dependents, but it does not require companies to cover spouses. Some 15,000 working spouses eligible for coverage at their own […]

Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements

HR Hero Line editor Wendi Watts reviews Brains on Fire by Robbin Phillips, Greg Cordell, and Geno Church, finding useful insight into engaging both employees and customers. Do your customers and employees love you? Do you love your customers and employees? Most HR people would readily admit that a large number of their employees are […]

Not so fast—Judge strikes down Pittsburgh’s paid sick leave ordinance

by Gregory J. Wartman In November, we reported that Pittsburgh had enacted a paid sick time ordinance for employees working in the city that was scheduled to take effect January 11, 2016 (see “Pittsburgh passes ordinance requiring paid sick time”). On December 21, 2015, a Pennsylvania judge struck down the ordinance, ruling that it is […]

HHS Describes Employer Process to Undo Exchanges’ Decisions

The health care reform process under which employers can contest adverse determinations (that can trigger pay-or-play penalties) due to an insurance exchange finding that their plans fail to provide minimum essential coverage was finalized in program integrity rules put on public display on Aug. 29 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The […]

5 Keys to Preserving Precious Interview Time

HR time is precious. You don’t want to waste it reviewing résumés of unqualified candidates. You need a system to keep all those unqualified candidates’ credentials off your desk and off your computer desktop as well. Of course, in the real world, you can’t avoid all unqualified candidates, but there are steps you can take […]