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Wage and Hour: Ninth Circuit Strips Insurance Adjusters of Big Award

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has ruled that insurance adjusters for Farmers Insurance Exchange qualified for the administrative exemption from overtime, according to the standards under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In so ruling, the appeals court threw out a $52.5 million judgment awarded by a federal trial court […]

Political Talk Heats Up the Workplace

As the race for the White House sees the Republican and Democratic candidates heading to their national conventions, political tension is making its way from the campaign trail into the office. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, three in 10 employers (30%) and nearly one in five employees (17%) have argued with a coworker over […]

1000’s of HR Tools and Resources — Available 24/7

Week in Review—January 21, 2011 Note to Readers: This newsletter appears daily, but we know some of you don’t always have the time to read it everyday. For your convenience, here’s a re-publication of what we covered this past week. Daily, weekly, or anything in between, we’re pleased to keep you informed with the latest […]

News Flash: LAPD Can Fire Unqualified Officer Who Was Hired By Mistake

When Eugene Quinn applied to be a Los Angeles police officer, he failed the medical exam because of a hearing impairment. But due to a clerical error, he was told to report for further training exams, which he passed. Quinn graduated from the police academy and was assigned to patrol duty before his hearing problem […]

New Bill Would Require DOL to Follow its Own Rules

A newly introduced bill would require the U.S. Department of Labor to follow a rule it wants to impose on federal contractors. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is in the final stages of a rulemaking that would require federal contractors to aim to have workers with disabilities make up 7 percent of their […]

If There’s a Sneaky Way Around a Tech Policy, Your Employees Will Find It

Make sure your employees know the “whys” behind your tech policies. Otherwise, they’ll find ways to work around them — and may even bring your system down in the process. According to Lisa Guerin, author of Smart Policies for Workplace Technologies, you must explain the policies you write about technology. If your employees don’t see […]

PBGC Proposes Facilitating DC-to-Pension Plan Rollovers

As more 401(k) plan participants look for retirement savings options that resemble traditional pensions, the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has proposed exempting  DC-to-DB rollovers from maximum guarantee and five-year phase-in limits. The agency in early April proposed regulations that would amend its rules on allocation of assets and benefits payable in terminated single-employer plans to clarify […]

Employer’s FMLA Notice Requirements Leave Little Room for Guesswork

While HR professionals may sometimes struggle with the murky areas of employment law, in a leave of absence situation, there should be no mistaking some of the more immediate obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Within five business days of receiving a request for leave, for example, you must provide three types of […]

Employer Match May Matter Less Than Threshold, Study Finds

By Jane Meacham Many employers match a percentage of employees’ contributions to their retirement funds. But what impact does that match have? A new academic study found that participation and contributions in U.S. employer-sponsored retirement plans increase when a matching contribution is offered but that the match’s impact on savings is less significant than other […]

News Notes: Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Gets Over $34 Million

A recent case provides a dramatic example of how great the financial incentive can be for employees to blow the whistle on their employer. Donald McLendon, a former health care executive, will receive over $34 million for giving the government information about unlawful billing and fraud by his former employer Olsten Corp. and hospital giant […]