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News Notes: OFCCP Sets Guidelines For “Functional” Affirmative Action Plans

Recent changes to affirmative action program rules permit government contractors to organize plans based around their functional or business units, rather than based solely on an establishment’s location. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has now issued guidelines for contractor requests to submit a “functional” affirmative action plan, or FAAP, including whether the functional […]

Stimulus Bill Brings COBRA, Other Issues for Employers

Update Dec. 16: House Passes COBRA Subsidy Extension and Expansion Even as President Barack Obama prepares for a trip to Denver Tuesday to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the stimulus package, many are still trying to sort out the bill, which Congress passed last Friday in dizzyingly rapid […]

IRS Opens Safe Harbors to Reform’s Play-or-Pay Rules

Employers may use look-back periods of up to 12 months, rather than a shorter period as initially established — to average out how many hours an employee works per week, which is a necessity when calculating an employer’s obligation under reform’s play-or-pay provisions. IRS Notice 2012-58 may help some employers escape erroneous shared-responsibility payments under health […]

Parts of Alabama Immigration Law Blocked — At Least Temporarily

Alabama employers may see some relief in a federal judge’s opinion on the state’s tough new immigration law even though most of the law was allowed to stand. Chief U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn ruled on September 28 that key parts of House Bill 56, which was signed into law June 9, can take […]

Outstanding Plan Loan Amounts Grow, Fidelity Reports

The percentage of 401(k) plan participants borrowing from their retirement accounts has remained steady amid record levels of savings in the accounts, but one data point from Fidelity Investments’ latest quarterly analysis of the thousands of accounts it manages could be cause for concern. According to the retirement plan administrator for 13.5 million 401(k) participants, […]

Wisconsin becomes latest right-to-work state

On March 9, a signature by Governor Scott Walker made Wisconsin the 25th state to pass right-to-work legislation. The new law means private-sector workers who don’t join a union won’t have to pay what is known as “fair share” payments assessed on workers who are deemed to benefit from union contracts despite their nonunion status. […]

The One Benefit Employees Refuse To Give Up

Yesterday, we looked at the large margin by which employees underestimate the amount it costs you to provide them with various benefits. Today, we’ll look at the one benefit employees refuse to give up — at nearly any cost.

Employment Law Tip: Paystub Reminder

Employers are reminded that come Jan. 1, 2008, employers must include only the last four digits of an employee’s Social Security number or other personal identification number on an itemized wage statement. Take the time now to make sure your payroll processes are updated to ensure compliance with this law by the start of the […]

News Flash: Employer Advisor Takes Another Honor

We’re proud to report that California Employer Advisor recently received its second award for excellence in Instructional Reporting from the international Newsletter Publishers Foundation. The award was presented last month in Washington, D.C. We won our first award in the same category in 1996. However, we give the real credit to our subscribers, for the invaluable comments […]

The Courtroom Shouldn’t Be Recordkeeping’s First Test

Litigation is the ultimate test of the adequacy of an employer’s recordkeeping practices, says attorney Allen Kato of the San Francisco office of Fenwick and West LLP. Of course, the courtroom isn’t the best place to find out that records are inadequate, incomplete, or nonexistent. Record retention is a daunting task for employers because there […]