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IRS Eases Rules for 401(k) Hardship Withdrawals, Loans Tied to Hurricane Sandy

Plan sponsors in areas Hurricane Sandy affected may want to prepare for an increase in loan or hardship withdrawal requests after the IRS on Nov. 16 said it temporarily will relax its rules that apply to such emergency funding for retirement plan participants.  The IRS announced the relief in Announcement 2012-44. Hurricane Sandy should be […]

California’s High Court Puts the Kibosh on Noncompete Agreements

The California Supreme Court has issued an important decision that makes it clear that employers cannot restrain an employee’s ability to compete, regardless of how reasonable or narrow the restrictions. As a result of this ruling, employers should do a thorough review of their employment agreements to ensure they do not contain unlawful noncompetition provisions.

A Sterling reputation tarnished

by Kylie Crawford TenBrook, Best Western International, Inc. In April, recordings of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist remarks to his half-black, half-Mexican girlfriend assistant* surfaced. Among those remarks were the following: It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to? You […]

Unwanted Scrutiny: Feds Investigate Self-funded Health Plans and Stop-loss

The federal government seems to be fishing around for evidence showing that self-insured health health plans will siphon off healthy lives from state-run insurance exchanges (a cornerstone of reform). On April 26, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and IRS/Treasury issued a set of questions about the use of stop-loss […]

‘Please Sue Me’ (Your Managers Talking?)

Happy people don’t sue … but there aren’t a lot of happy people these days, says Hunter Lott. Nevertheless, today’s economic times mean a once-in-a-business-lifetime opportunity, he says. Lott is a consultant who specializes in helping small businesses cope with HR regulations and compliance. His suggestions came during one of his "Please Sue Me" sessions […]

C-Suite Won’t Buy In? You’re Talking About Comp the Wrong Way

Special from Atlanta–SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition If your C-Suite suits won’t pay attention when you talk about your compensation program, says Payscale, Inc.’s Stacey Carroll, M.B.A., CCP, SPHR, you’re talking about compensation the wrong way. Carroll talks of one CEO who was frustrated about compensation. He had his 12 top people that he wanted […]

The ACA After Five Years: Disasters Did Not Materialize, But More Change Is Needed

Five years ago, in March 2010, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama to resolve problems in the U.S. health system, including: the high number of uninsured Americans; Americans unable to get coverage due to pre-existing conditions; the high cost of care; and suboptimal care as a result of poor incentives […]