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In other wage and hour news, the Industrial Welfare Commission has announced the creation of two new wage boards. The boards will be responsible for establishing wage orders for the on-site construction, mining, drilling and logging industry and for the computer industry. Nominations for the construction, mining, drilling and logging industry wage board must be […]
On June 14, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury issued new regulations addressing grandfathered plans under health care reform and how such plans can keep their grandfathered status. Although the new health care reform legislation (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability […]
As of press time, the U.S. Supreme Court was set to rule on a case that could redefine the claims and remedies allowed under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The lawsuit arose after a 401(k) plan participant asked the plan administrator, which was his employer, to change his elections. The participant claimed […]
The Internal Revenue Service has released cost-of-living adjustments for contributions to employee retirement plans, including 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans, as well as profit-sharing, SIMPLE, and SEP plans. For information on the new limits, go to the IRS website. 10 Tips for Effective, Legal Performance Appraisals Don’t let your performance appraisals fall by the wayside. […]
Along with newly issued health reform rules finalizing essential health benefits provisions comes a new series of FAQs from the U.S. departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury. This guidance addresses specific questions raised about the scope of reform’s cost-sharing and preventive services provisions, and provides some transition relief for large group and self-insured […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it intends to make big changes to child labor provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL has released a proposal that would strengthen existing youth employment regulations to protect against workplace hazards and expand certain youth workplace opportunities that have been judged safe and […]
In 2000, Sacramento lawmakers enacted SB 402, requiring counties and other local agencies to submit, under certain circumstances, to binding arbitration of economic issues that arise during negotiations with unions representing firefighters or law enforcement officers. Now the California Supreme Court has struck down the law, ruling that it interferes with state constitution provisions giving […]
On August 17, 2006, President Bush signed the sweeping Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4) into law. The bill, which is the most comprehensive overhaul of pension laws in 30 years, will: require employers to fully fund pensions, with time limits for funding shortfalls; encourage more employers to use automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans; […]
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: