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Exempt Workers: How To Tell When You Have To Pay Overtime To Outside Sales Employees; New Decision Clarifies The Rules

After selling and delivering bottled water for more than three years, Peter Ramirez quit his job and sued his employer, Yosemite Water Company, for back overtime. His lawsuit, which went all the way to the California Supreme Court, highlights how difficult it can be to determine whether or not outside sales personnel qualify as exempt […]

News Notes: Fragrance-Sensitive Employee May Qualify For ADA Protection

In a decision that could test the limits of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal court in Utah has ruled a worker’s sensitivity to strong fragrances may qualify as a disability. Glenda Davis had worked for a state tax agency for four years when she developed a sensitivity to fragrances that resulted in headaches, […]

5 Great Tips for Effective Decision Making

Life is full of decisions. Think for a moment about all the decisions you face at work in just a single day. You make many choices every day that affect your business. Depending on your exact role, you make decisions about people, projects, strategy, and more. A lot of choices.

New accessibility laws coming for federal sector

by Jackie VanDerMeulen Laws aimed at making organizations more accessible for Canadians with disabilities have been enacted by various jurisdictions across Canada in recent years. The federal government recently announced that it also plans to introduce legislation to promote accessibility. It will apply to federally regulated employers, such as banks, cross-border transportation providers, and telecommunications […]

What Makes a Great Employee?

Frequently I’m asked, “What is the one thing that sets really great employees apart from the rest?” It’s an interesting question. I’m always surprised that people would assume that there might be a single common thread that ties all the best employees together. The questioners assume there is a single trait shared by the best […]

At-Will Employment Language: HR Form of the Week

In an earlier blog article we discussed a recent appeals court decision which upheld a vague employment agreement clause. Although the employer prevailed in that case despite the unclear at-will language, it’s important to make an at-will employment arrangement clear to employees to avoid lawsuits. This week we provide you with sample policy language that […]

PCORI Fees–Your Turn to Fund health Care Research

Get ready for one more requirement of the Affordable Care Act—the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fee. It’s a fee your plan pays to fund government research into the effectiveness of certain treatments. What Is the Amount of the Fee? The fee is: $1 times the average covered lives for policy years ending on or […]

What’s the Highest Paying Job with a 2-Year Degree?

With the rising cost of higher education, some are considering whether a 4-year degree is worth the price, or whether they could land a high-paying career with an associate’s degree. A new CareerBuilder® survey, conducted with Economic Modeling Specialists, lists the highest-paying jobs that require an associate’s degree. Here are the top five jobs, along […]

Transit Benefit Parity: Train Has Left the Station

Employers will not have any reason to adjust their qualified transportation fringe benefit plans — not as a result of a major highway funding bill that recently became law, anyway. That bill, known as the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21, once had a transit benefit parity provision in it, which […]