Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Every year, BLR’s HR editors select ten key topics we think will be at the forefront in the following year, and we offer best practices for each topic. This year, we will feature free best practice reports under each category. Simply click on the links below to download the featured reports. More reports will be […]
Employers will not have to start distributing notices to all employees on the existence of health insurance exchanges on March 1 as required by the health reform law. This requirement is now deemed impracticable because many state exchanges have not been set up, and do not become operational until Jan. 1, 2014. Also, the requirement […]
Court Fails to Find ERISA Breach Plan sponsors, especially those in the financial services industry, have some assurance about their right to invest in affiliated mutual funds and other assets for their retirement plans, based on a recent ruling by an appeals court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 14 upheld the […]
This year’s worse than average flu season has some employers wondering what they can do to help keep workers healthy. Just one flu-infected worker, after all, can infect the entire workplace and bring productivity to a grinding halt. Employers have, of course, been through this kind of scare before. In 2009, when worries about a […]
Vacations? Overtime after 8 hours? Double time for holidays? These are some of the many myths of wage and hour that managers adhere to. In today’s Advisor, we’ll dispel a dozen of them. Myth #1—Employees get extra pay for working nights and weekends. The Facts: The FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or […]
A corporate policy that does not include pregnancy among the conditions making an employee eligible for light duty is a “neutral and legitimate business practice,” not evidence of bias against pregnant workers, according to a recent court ruling that dismissed a UPS truck driver’s claim that she was the victim of pregnancy discrimination. Employers may […]
The HITECH Act is now here in full. The whole litany of tighter privacy and security requirements is in the long-awaited, long-delayed “omnibus” rules finalized Jan. 17 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and most of these will have to be met by this Sept. 23. The omnibus rules also include changes […]
A former employee argued that her former employer, which employed fewer than 20 employees (and thus was exempt from COBRA) for eight months of the year, formed an affiliated service group with another employer and thus employed more than 20 employees for four months of that year. Thus, she contended the employer became subject to […]
Many plan sponsors are still having a hard time improving the funding status of their plans, according to indexes measuring the December funding levels of U.S. corporate pension plans. Statistics show plans’ funding rose slightly from November 2012 to December 2012, keeping the month’s funded ratios above the lowest monthly figures for 2012; however, they […]
In a recent case, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to decide whether small companies that are extensions of larger entities must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court in Reynolds v. American National Red Cross (No. 11-2278, 11-2280 (Dec. 7, 2012)) said it would not address the matter in a […]