Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Managing Editor, HR Daily Advisor Just My E-pinion The enactment of the health care reform bills launched an extended period of far-reaching changes that impact every employer. BLR’s hot-off-the-press Special Report details what’s happening in 2011 (and beyond to 2018). Here’s what you need to be thinking about in 2011: […]
Reimbursement rates for lodging, meals and incidental expenses for fiscal year 2013, which begins Oct. 1, will be frozen at FY 2012 levels, the U.S. General Services Administration announced Aug. 27. GSA is the arm of the federal government that sets travel policy for federal employees. The reimbursement rates, commonly called per diems, determine the […]
The latest annual survey of Fortune 100 companies’ retirement plan types confirms the familiar shift to defined contribution plans by most of the largest U.S. firms. As of 2012, 70 of the Fortune 100 companies offered only DC plans to new, salaried employees. Just 11 still offer a traditional defined benefit pension plan to new […]
A victory by the health plan participant in US Airways v. McCutchen, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, may erode ERISA plans’ ability to enforce plan terms as written, a legal expert tells the blog. In McCutchen, the Court has a very difficult balancing act to answer whether: (1) an ERISA health plan administrator is entitled […]
Legislation is pending in Washington that would treat certain employees who perform inside sales work the same as outside salespeople when it comes to overtime pay. Inside sales personnel are currently entitled to overtime after 40 hours of work in a week. However, a bill making its way through the House of Representatives would exempt […]
Even though your focus is HR rather than safety, you need to have a solid working knowledge of what OSHA and Cal/OSHA are up to. Here’s a general overview of what OSHA is focusing on this year.
Companies that wrongly pay workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, strip workers of benefits and protections and put responsible employers at a competitive disadvantage, according to Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., who this week proposed increasing penalties on employers found to have misclassified workers. Woolsey’s bill, The Misclassification Prevention Act, (HR 3178) is the most […]
An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa is causing concern in the United States, as the medical community and various organizations watch to see if the outbreak will be contained, or will spread globally. Although this situation is occurring thousands of miles away, it is a good reminder for businesses in the United […]
We are seeing a need to engage in more intensive monitoring and surveillance of our employees’ tech equipment use. I want to get a new draft policy circulating. What should I include?— Sally E., HR Manager in Sausalito