Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its budget request for the federal fiscal year (FY) 2013 on Feb. 13, as part of the budget proposal President Obama sent to Congress. The DOL budget request for FY 2013 is $12.0 billion, down from $12.6 billion for FY 2012. The department’s press release emphasized this reduction, […]
When we want to fire someone, should we wait until we can build a “paper file”?
Cigna Corp. has agreed to shell out $8.9 million to settle a government fraud lawsuit triggered by an employee’s allegation of over-billing. The employee had disclosed that Connecticut General Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Cigna, was overcharging the Health Care Financing Administration for photocopy charges. The employee claimed that when the company made two-sided copies, […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has unveiled a new interactive website to assist employers operating group health plans with their compliance responsibilities under the various federal health benefits laws. The new Health Benefits Advisor provides information on these laws:
Cal/OSHA has issued an updated fact sheet outlining changes in its respirator regulations. The rules apply to all workplace respirator use except for tuberculosis protection. The fact sheet outlines the specific elements of a comprehensive, written program for respirator use that must be implemented by employers. As spelled out in the fact sheet, such a […]
Do I have to pay employees who go on jury duty? What about court appearances?
by By J. Robert Brame, McGuireWoods, LLP U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has announced he will retire at the end of the current Court session in June or July. Stevens, who turns 90 on April 20 and is the longest-serving member of the current Court, had hinted that a decision on retirement might […]
In a recent meeting with President Vicente Fox of Mexico, a delegation of American senators led by Senator Phil Gramm (R-Texas) pledged to initiate a new guest worker program that would bring Mexican workers into the U.S. and effectively grant amnesty to as many as 7 million Mexicans currently working here illegally. According to Gramm, […]
One of the more controversial laws enacted in California last year was S.B. 2, the Health Insurance Act of 2003. The law requires many California businesses to either provide health coverage to part- and full-time employees or pay a fee into a state health coverage fund. The law is scheduled to be phased in beginning […]