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15-Year Sexual Harassment Report Card Brings Good News and Bad News for Employers

Lawsuits are down, but judgments are up, and training remains the answer October 2006 marks 15 years since the term “sexual harassment” entered the American lexicon in a big way. Americans came to know it through the testimony of Anita Hill, as she complained about alleged unwelcome advances from her ex-boss, now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence […]

Reform Agencies Clarify Cost Sharing and Essential Services

A series of agency Q&As resolves a few questions relating to complying with federal health care reform, such as correctly counting participants’ out-of-pocket expenditures; wellness program reward administration; and the status of “carved-out” benefits. In latest set of Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury provide some […]

Employer Health Plans Could Face Unpredictability as State Responses to Reform Differ

Time will soon tell how many states will run health exchanges and expand Medicaid as directed in the federal health reform law. But for employer plans, the waiting game just draws out the inevitable confusion that may occur as those plans anticipate being impacted in different ways on a state-by-state basis, speakers explained at a […]

News Notes: Maker Of Wonder Bread Ordered To Pay $131 Million For Race Bias

A San Francisco jury has ordered the nation’s largest wholesale baker to pay $11 million in compensatory damages and a whopping $120 million in punitive damages to African-American workers who said they were subjected to racial slurs, unequal treatment and other indignities by co-workers and supervisors at three Bay Area plants. Workers testified that they […]

Barbers Are Licensed, Why Not Leaders?

Just My E-pinionBy Steven M. Horner, SPHR Today’s guest columnist suggests that we’d have better business leaders if we made them get licenses to keep their jobs. Did you ever think about all of the service providers you come in contact with … barbers, accountants, lawyers, electricians, insurance agents, and so on? All of these […]

Many Implications for Employers in Senate Health Care Reform Bill

Read the latest news on health care reform efforts in Congress and how they will affect employers In a 60-39 party-line vote, U.S. Senate Democrats voted last night to begin full debate on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), a comprehensive 2,074-page health care reform bill. The legislation, which Senate Majority Leader […]

U.S. Supreme Court Punts on ACA Contraceptive Mandate Case

By BLR Legal Editor Jennifer Carsen, JD For the past several months, court-watchers have been waiting for the Supremes to resolve a split among the circuits on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) contraceptive mandate. Today, the court released its long-awaited opinion—without ruling on the merits of the case.

Employment Tests: New EEOC Fact Sheet Highlights Avoiding Bias When Screening Job Candidates and Employees; Five Best Practices

Selecting the best person for the job—be it a new hire or a candidate for promotion—is crucial to any organization’s success. But if you’re using tests and other selection procedures to help you make sound employment decisions, it’s important to be aware of how federal antibias laws limit the use of screening tools. To that […]