Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Brian P. Smeenk Canada is a diverse country. Its ten provinces and three territories are endowed with varying natural resources and have developed their own industrial infrastructures and labour markets. Nevertheless, education is always a major factor in the ability to find a job. So commences a very interesting, recently published study by Statistics […]
Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) involves a lot of moving parts, says Attorney Martin Simon. As the various pieces of the ACA come into play, we can expect some flexibility, some postponing of deadlines, and a delay of penalties, he adds. In fact, the delays have already started, says Simon, Senior Legal Editor […]
In today’s world of corporate belt-tightening and budget cutbacks, you might find yourself wondering whether the expense of an HR staff is actually justified by the benefits. After all, HR doesn’t create revenue for the company — it doesn’t operate the machinery that produces the widgets, and it doesn’t drive sales. In fact, the perception […]
by Brad Cave Q: Will I be in violation of federal discrimination laws if I provide an “English as a second language” (ESL) employee English language training at the company’s expense? A Any possible discrimination charge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be based on national origin. The Equal Employment […]
Suppose an accommodation you’ve provided for a disabled employee isn’t working out. How far must you go to find a new accommodation? And do you have to consider telecommuting as an alternative? A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision zeroes in on these questions. And we’ll suggest ways to manage the accommodation process to […]
The National Institute for Ocupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has produced a new training tool about preventing workplace violence. “Violence on the Job” is a 27-minute video (in two separate programs) that discusses practical measures for identifying risk factors for violence at work, and it offers recommendations and resources to help keep workers safe. The […]
A sting operation resulted in the arrest of a paroled felon for impersonating a Cal/OSHA inspector and victimizing employers in the Los Angeles County area. Mark Dwayne Jackson allegedly threatened to impose severe fines for non-existent safety violations unless the business owners agreed to a cash settlement. The suspect was arrested after accepting marked money […]
Leading employee benefits attorneys recently discussed rules on calculating workforces and identifying to whom the employer must make an offer of coverage. Vanessa Scott, a partner with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Washington, D.C., and Malcolm Slee, of Counsel at the Groom Law Group, Washington, D.C.,discussed the counting and measuring rules spawned by health care reform during […]
A recent survey of 585 businesses identified major growth in companies offering high deductible healthcare plans, and noted four ways to restrain cost increases. Once upon a time, if you worked for a good company and you got sick, you went to any doctor, hospital, or pharmacy and handed them your health plan card. That […]
If your retirement plan committee is satisfied with the automatic enrollment policy in place but has expressed concerns about the rising cost of the employer match that a growing participant base can bring, new research may provide a window into how other employer plan sponsors are handling this dilemma. Automatically enrolling employees in company retirement […]