Most Popular

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 Senate Republicans unanimously backed the amendment, which would have repealed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), […]

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 […]

In Rare Post-amendments Ruling, Court Finds Impairment Not a Disability

Being deaf in one ear is not a disability, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania ruled in Mengel v. Reading Eagle Co. (No. 11–6151, 2013 WL 1285477 (E.D. Pa. March 29, 2014)). While findings of “no disability” were common before the Americans with Disabilities Act was amended, they have been […]

Few Will Benefit from Retroactive Increase in Transit Exclusion

Only a limited number of employees may benefit from federal legislation that retroactively extended parity between qualified parking and transit benefits, based on new IRS guidance. Notice 2015-2 instructs employers on applying a retroactive tax exclusion to commuters who used part of their 2014 salary to pay for mass transit commuting expenses or received a […]

Danger: Look What DOL Is Sharing with Your Company’s Friends — and Foes

By Wendi Watts You probably know what your profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn look like. But do you know what your organization’s profile on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new online database looks like? Attorney David Fortney recommends every employer check theirs out. On the database’s home page, the DOL states that the site […]

Was Nurse Immunized from Discipline by Taking FMLA?

By David M. Stevens, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston Employers frequently experience heartburn when employees who have recently taken leave protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) engage in conduct that warrants discipline or even termination. You are rightly concerned about the possibility that an employee in that situation may allege retaliation if you […]

Work Permits: Employee Transfers for Canadian Start-Ups

by Isabelle Dongier In our March 22, 2010 article, we explained the simplified and expedited processes for obtaining a temporary work permit for foreign employees transferred from outside Canada to a Canadian parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate company. These intracompany transfers provide a significant benefit for companies — they exempt them from demonstrating their reasonable […]

Once ‘Moore’ with feeling: ‘Twas the Month of December—Again!

by Vanessa L. Goddard ‘Twas the month of December, we’re early this year, To plan against surprises as Christmas draws near. In the past HR handled parties and drinking. “What could possibly happen?” you might be thinking. Our vets have come home this year—to their positions. We’ve worked with our employees’ many transitions. Taken care […]