Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
When plumbing products’ manufacturer Moen Incorporated opened a fitness center at its headquarters more than a decade ago, it was a “feel-good” type of service for employee morale, retention, and recruitment. Since that time, however, its wellness initiatives have had a significant impact on the company’s bottom line. One internal study found that for every […]
State and local governments spend billions of dollars annually on economic development subsidies given to companies for moving existing jobs from one state to another, according to a study released today by Good Jobs First, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center based in Washington, D.C. The report is titled The Job-Creation Shell Game. Greg LeRoy, executive […]
How your workers’ compensation insurer manages your claims can have a big impact on your premiums. In a recent case, an employer whose premiums skyrocketed and dividends dropped for several years sued its insurer for overestimating the amounts needed to be held in reserve to pay claims—and won. This case underscores that keeping an eye […]
Performance appraisals can help strengthen your case if you’re sued by an employee. Providing an inadequate evaluation, or no evaluation at all, can be used against you with devastating results. Juries tend to come down hard on employers who don’t appear to have given an employee a chance to improve.
A county government in Washington state agreed to pay $215,000 in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, after its report of a minor breach led to an HHS investigation that found “general and widespread noncompliance” with HIPAA privacy and security rules. The incident originally reported by Skagit County, Wash., in […]
Federal contractors need to be preparing now for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new pay transparency rule, a rule going into effect in January that is likely to present challenges to a number of employers, according to an attorney familiar with its provisions. “This rule appears to me to be part of the overarching […]
PEDs—portable electronic devices such as laptops, PDAs, pocket drives, and memory cards—are in your office by the dozens. Are they putting confidential data at risk? Generating unexpected overtime? Destroying productivity? It’s time for a separate PED policy. First, courtesy of our sister newsletter, the Safety Daily Advisor, let’s consider the various laws that relate to […]
A Catholic church’s music director is a “minister” and therefore ineligible to bring employment discrimination claims against the Church, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, implementing a new U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Phillip Cannata worked as the music director for St. John Neumann Catholic Church, part of the Catholic Diocese of Austin. He […]
By Jennifer Carsen, JD, Legal Editor On March 1, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the state of Vermont in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case that could have broad implications for states’ ability to regulate healthcare practices and reforms within their borders.
Premiums for employer-sponsored coverage increased at a lower rate this year, but this could be largely ascribed to a growing rate of enrollment in high-deductible plans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s (KFF) annual health benefits survey.