Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed regulation for assessing fines against plan administrators who fail to disclose certain documents to participants, beneficiaries, and others as required by the Pension Protection Act (PPA), which amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
The state Insurance Commissioner has approved a 10.1% premium rate hike for workers’ compensation insurance in response to increases in medical costs that have battered workers’ comp insurers. Although the approved boost is only advisory, increases adopted by the commissioner are frequently used by the industry as a guidepost to set policy prices.
We’ve been brainstorming ideas for retaining our older workers who have skills we need and that we have trouble recruiting for. Most of our ideas would require us to bend our policies. We’re considering offering our older workers these incentives:
–Have a doctor certify all FMLA leave for medical reasons. You’re entitled to ask for a second or even a third opinion. Go to Tip Two
Last week, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that granted class-action status to a lawsuit—the largest civil rights suit in history—accusing Wal-Mart of sex discrimination in pay and promotions. The class is estimated to consist of up to 1.6 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart unsuccessfully […]
Employees who want to help victims of Hurricane Sandy through leave donation may do so without being taxed on the monetary value of the vacation days, sick days and personal leave they donate, the IRS announced Nov. 6. In a leave donation program, employees forgo vacation, sick or personal leave and return it to their […]
Some good news for employers: The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday ruled 5-4 that employees who complain of pay discrimination must file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the discriminatory pay decision, rather than within 180 days of the employee’s last paycheck. According to the high court, the “EEOC […]
States will get one more month, until Dec. 14, to notify federal regulators whether they will set up and run their own health insurance exchanges, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told two governors in a letter dated Nov. 15. Without the extension, the deadline for signaling intent would have been Friday, Nov. […]
As we head into the last week of 2006, employers that haven’t done so already must take quick steps to ensure they’ll be ready to comply with the new California minimum wage come January 1.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a plan to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour for about 21,000 workers employed by private employers with city contracts and non-profit agencies that provide the city with social services. The proposal, which was supported by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, includes a hike […]