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IRS Lowers Standard Mileage Rate for 2009

The IRS standard-mileage-reimbursement rate for 2009 will be 55 cents per mile for all business miles driven, down from the rate of 58.5 cents a mile that was in effect in the second half of 2008. The IRS had made a special adjustment for the second half of 2008 in response to a spike in […]

Overtime Calculation: Do You Have to Include Benefits Opt-Out Payments?

By BLR Editor Kate McGovern Tornone The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington—has given employers another thing to worry about in light of the new overtime regulations. In a  case of first impression, the court ruled that when an employer pays an employee cash […]

IRS Standard Mileage Rates Drop a Half-cent

Employers whose employees use their own vehicles business can now adjust their reimbursement forms and procedures for 2014, since the IRS released the standard mileage rates for the year in Notice 2013-80 on Dec. 6. The IRS also adjusted the reimbursement rate for miles driven for medical purposes or a relocation, also by half a […]

Small Employers May See Fewer Choices on SHOP in 2014, HHS Says

A health reform requirement that all insurers offer four levels of health coverage to small businesses would be delayed until 2015 under proposed rules scheduled to be published March 11 in the Federal Register. Under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposal, small employers may get one choice of health coverage in 2014. […]

Health Benefits: A Look at Recent HIPAA Developments

If you have an employer-sponsored health plan, it is important to stay up-to-date on the latest information about the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, or HIPAA—which imposes requirements regarding the security of medical information, nondiscrimination in health plans, and much more. We’ll take a look at HIPAA developments that are new for 2007.

Is Coaching the New Management?

Should you be coaching instead of managing and supervising? We’ll lay out some coaching basics and tell you about a new January 22 audio conference on successful coaching skills. Coaching is frequent, spontaneous, one-on-one training. Many experts think it is a very effective tool for performance, motivation, and participation. As a performance tool, coaching provides […]

EEOC Promotes Hiring Recently Released Prisoners

On June 21, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Jacqueline Berrien participated with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Attorney General Eric Holder in a roundtable discussion of employment strategies for getting individuals with criminal records, including recently released prisoners, back to work. Employers, service providers, academics, policy advocates, and former prisoners also participated. The […]

How To Avoid Termination-Related Lawsuits

Terminated employees will rarely bow out gracefully and say, “Yes—I completely understand why you’re making this decision.” Best-case scenario, they go quietly. Worst-case scenario, you wind up defending a nightmare lawsuit. Ill-considered and hasty terminations are particularly problematic. They spell lawsuit time and time again. Yet most of those lawsuits are avoidable — if you […]