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Tips for leveraging inclusiveness for a more productive workforce

Employers are always searching for ways to empower their employees to do their best work. They invest in training to help workers gain skills, and they develop policies designed to keep the workplace running smoothly, but other components—cultivating cultural intelligence and fostering an environment of inclusiveness—may be overlooked.   Simma Lieberman, a diversity and inclusion/culture change […]

Pension

Largest Defined Contribution Plans Look to Adopt DB Best Practices for The Future

By Jane Meacham While acknowledging that maintaining traditional defined benefit (DB) pensions has become either too expensive or too burdensome, several Fortune 500 company retirement plan sponsors would like to replicate for their defined contribution (DC) plans some of the efficiencies from their DB plans, according to a new survey report from BNY Mellon.

Senate Votes Down Health Care Reform Repeal Legislation

On Wednesday, February 2, the U.S. Senate voted 51-47 against a largely symbolic amendment that would repeal the health care reform legislation enacted last year. (The amendment was to an unrelated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding bill.) Senate Republicans unanimously backed the amendment, which would have repealed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), […]

Business Travel and the Zika Virus

By Catherine Morton Gray, JD, BLR Senior Managing Editor The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the Zika virus a “public health emergency of international concern.” According to WHO, the virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and is linked to a spike in birth defects in cases where the mother contracted the virus during pregnancy. Also, […]

Supreme Court Seeks New Accommodation in Birth Control Case

Religious non-profit employers that are not eligible for a church exemption seemed more likely to change the process of opting out of the Affordable Care Act requirement that health plans cover contraceptives and family planning services without cost-sharing. In a two-page order dated March 29, the U.S. Supreme Court told lawyers arguing Zubik v. Burwell, No. 14-1418 (cert. […]

Designing a Workplace Drug Testing Policy in California

In a CER webinar titled “Drug and Alcohol Testing in California: Effective Strategies That Protect Your Company and Your Employees,” Marc L. Jacuzzi outlined some guidance for employers who are designing a workplace drug testing policy. The laws still have plenty of gray area, so Jacuzzi advised that be sure to consult with legal advisors […]

A Tool to Train in the Wider Aspects of Sexual Harassment

Most employees likely think of harassment in male vs. female terms. A new BLR interactive CD-ROM training course will make them conscious of a wider perspective. Ask your employees, or even your supervisors, for an example of “sexual harassment,” and you’ll likely hear the best-known version of it … a male showering a female with […]

New EEO-1: “Officers and Managers” Section Also Changed (Part 2 of 2)

Besides changing racial/ethnic categories, the new EEO-1 form also changes the section on management responsibility. Here’s what you need to know and do before the September 30 filing deadline … and a special audio conference to get you even more complete answers. We’ve been reporting on the new EEO-1 report form, which measures diversity in […]