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HR Lessons from Katrina

By Beth TintoDirector of Human Resources, Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans An HR director provides an emotional account of what it’s like to survive a major disaster—and what lessons her organization learned for the future. This week marks the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to Katrina, the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans had 9,000 […]

South Dakota Voters Just Say No to Medical Marijuana

By Jane Pfeifle Though a similar measure was narrowly defeated in 2006, this year South Dakota resoundingly rejected Initiative 13, which called for the legalization of medical marijuana. As a result employers can breathe a sigh of relief because the measure raised numerous questions about how they might be called on to respond to employees […]

IRS Eases Health FSA ‘Use-it-or-Lose-it’ Rule

Employers now have the option of allowing plan participants to roll over up to $500 in unused FSA funds at the end of each plan year, under a new regulatory interpretation on health flexible spending accounts, the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS announced Oct. 31. Employers are free to change their plan designs accordingly for […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Paperback Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling paperback business books as ranked by the New York Times on November 8. 1. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. How and why certain products and ideas become fads. 2. Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How […]

Get interactive, rules federal appellate court

by Brandon Gearhart A recent decision from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee employers) illustrates the importance of the interactive process when making employment decisions about a disabled worker. The court returned a previously dismissed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim to the lower […]

Federal Contractors Required to Use E-Verify Starting September 8

Beginning Sept. 8, 2009, federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to use the E-Verify system to ensure their employees are legally authorized to work in the United States.The requirement is designed to stop federal contractors and subcontractors from hiring illegal immigrants. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced this week that the […]

Delighted in Dayton: Bummed out in Boulder

Forbes recently commissioned online website CareerBliss to dive into its employee happiness data and determine which cities in the United State have the happiest workers—and which have the unhappiest. Here are the results: Cities with the Happiest Workers Rank City CareerBliss Score 1 Dayton, OH 4.02 out of 5 2 Knoxville, TN 4.02 out of 5 […]

Workplace Investigations: New Law Clears Way For Employers To Use Outside Investigators; What You Need To Know

For several years, employers have struggled with whether they have to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (FCRA) detailed notice and disclosure rules when they use outside experts to investigate employee misconduct, such as harassment. The uncertainty stemmed from a now infamous opinion letter from the Fair Trade Commission that stated reports prepared by […]

New Tax Credits Available for Hiring Veterans

By H. Mark Adams and B. Trevor Wilson Employers now have a powerful new incentive for hiring recently discharged and other unemployed veterans. Under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, enacted by Congress this past November, employers may receive significant income work opportunity tax credits for hiring unemployed veterans, including: […]

Business Travel: Can You Help Us Sort Out Nonexempt Travel Time Pay?

We’ve got issues regarding nonexempt travel pay. Many of our nonexempts travel, typically leaving their homes on Sunday afternoon for an all-day Monday meeting, and then returning home late Monday night. In addition to reimbursing their travel expenses, what pay do we owe them for the travel on Sunday afternoon and Monday night? Is it […]