Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Update Dec. 21, 2009: President signs bill including COBRA subsidy extension Representative Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) introduced the Extended COBRA Continuation Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 3930) this week in the U.S. House of Representatives. The proposed bill would extend the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), […]
Forgive me for bragging, but I’ve got a group of fantastic coworkers. Many of them were in action again this morning. You see, some of our people volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House here in Nashville today. As I write this, they’ve already served breakfast to the families staying there and another team will be […]
In a time of economic uncertainty, employers are looking for innovative ways to balance the needs of their workforce with the realities of the post-Healthcare Reform era. Kristen Allison, president of Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, a leading employee benefits consulting and brokerage firm based in Orange County, offers insight into today’s hottest trends set to […]
The U.S. Department of Labor recently published a proposal to update the 50-year-old Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations defining white-collar exemptions. The new rules could take effect by the end of the year after a public comment and review process. But, as explained below, the changes probably won’t have much impact on California employers […]
Update Dec. 16: House Passes COBRA Subsidy Extension and Expansion Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued model COBRA continuation coverage notices that reflect the new nine-month, 65 percent subsidy on COBRA premiums. The notices are available online at www.dol.gov/ebsa/COBRAmodelnotice.html. There are four types of notices, each tailored to a particular employee, beneficiary, or […]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B visa petitions for fiscal year 2013 on Monday, April 2. Petitions for the visas, which allow nonimmigrant specialists to temporarily work in the United States, will be considered accepted on the date USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee. […]
Pacific Bell has agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges that it didn’t credit pregnancy leave toward an employee’s service when calculating retirement benefits. As many as 10,000 women who took leave before 1979, when Congress passed the federal law banning pregnancy discrimination, may share in the settlement. The class action suit was filed […]
Albertson’s grocery chain recently settled eight class-action lawsuits filed by workers who allege the company didn’t pay them for work performed at the end of their shifts or on their days off. The employees claim they feared being fired if they reported the off-the-clock work. Albertson’s has denied wrongdoing, but agreed to take a $37 […]
The Obama administration’s health care reform legislation suffered an apparent casualty last week when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicated it wouldn’t pursue implementation of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program (also known as the CLASS Act). In a letter to the U.S. Congress about the CLASS Act, […]
And then there were seven: Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) on Feb. 13 signed a measure making same-sex marriage legal in that state. Washington joins Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Iowa and the District of Columbia as U.S. jurisdictions with that distinction. The Washington law goes into effect on June 7. The Washington […]