Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Employers who hire based on doing their own online background checks could be looking at wrong information … and trouble. You think you’ve finally found the right candidate for that important job opening. The resume read like a good book, and one with a happy ending. The interview left the hiring manager looking starstruck. Now […]
National Payroll Week celebrates the hard work by America’s 156 million wage earners and the payroll professionals who pay them. Together, through the payroll withholding system, they contribute, collect, report and deposit approximately $1.8 trillion, or 65.7%, of the annual revenue of the U.S. Treasury. Founded in 1996 by the American Payroll Association, NPW is […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that it has reached a $20 million settlement of a race discrimination class action filed by the agency against national drug store chain Walgreens, which is based in Illinois. About 10,000 class members will share in the settlement proceeds.
Data compiled by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicate that sex harassment complaints received by the agency and its state counterparts have leveled off. Between 1992 and 1995, the number of complaints jumped from 10,532 per year to 15,549, and 15,836 charges were filed in 2000. The EEOC found no reasonable cause to believe […]
The federal Department of Labor has proposed extensive changes to the process for filing a Labor Condition Application (LCA) to employ a foreign worker. The agency says that the new rules would speed up application processing, but HR professionals and immigration attorneys are less optimistic, predicting that the proposal could radically limit the situations in […]
Unicom, a maker of computer network components, agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), on behalf of 10 current and former employees, that alleged the company discriminated against African-American, Hispanic and female employees. Unicom did not admit any wrongdoing but has agreed to bring in an outside consultant to […]
The California Supreme Court has given an important stamp of approval to the use of mandatory arbitration clauses as a condition of employment as long as they meet certain requirements assuring fairness to employees. In the wake of the ruling, you’ll need to immediately review, and possibly revise, arbitration agreements signed by existing employees and […]
Because the new laws make domestic partners eligible for the same benefits and workplace rights as spouses, it is important to understand the definition of “domestic partners.” Public and private employers must follow this definition with respect to any rights or benefits afforded domestic partners by law.
A new type of “starter” retirement savings account for smaller balances that’s backed by the federal government but administered by employers was promised by President Barack Obama in his 2014 State of the Union address on Jan. 28. The president said he would use an Executive Order to direct the U.S. Treasury Department on Jan. […]
With the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), plan sponsors were given a freedom they didn’t have before. The legislation, which William Arnone of Ernst & Young calls “the most far-reaching legislation impacting benefits since ERISA,” enables plan sponsors to offer employees investment advice without exposing themselves to liability for the outcome […]