Tag: benefits

Workers’ Comp Premiums May Be Headed Up

Since the workers’ compensation reforms of 2003, most California employers have seen a steady and welcome decline in their workers’ comp insurance premiums. But rates may be headed in the other direction starting in 2009.

Two Big Age Bias Settlements—and 3 Lawsuit Prevention Tips

Several new age bias settlements have hit the California headlines. Electronics retailer Best Buy will pay $17,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a 68-year-old job applicant who contended he was denied employment because of his age. According to the suit, Reinhold Schouweiler was rejected for a […]

Benefits Denials Scrutinized When Plan Administrator Plays Dual Role

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the level of scrutiny courts must apply when an employee challenges a denial of benefits and the plan administrator, whether the employer or an insurance company, played the dual role of determining whether the employee was eligible for benefits and paying benefits out of its own pocket.1 The […]

U.S. Supreme Court Issues 3 New Decisions

The first case, Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, involved an employer’s decision to lay off 31 employees, 30 of whom were age 40 or older. The workers sued, claiming the layoffs had a disparate impact on older workers in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The employer claimed it based its […]

Do domestic partner benefits make sense for you?

So you read the previous article and want to make your company more friendly to your gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) employees (and therefore the GLBT community). A good first step is offering domestic partner benefits as a recruiting tool. Simply put, domestic partner benefits are benefits offered to an employee’s unmarried partner, regardless […]

NY corrections department must pay $1 million for discrimination in settlement with EEOC

The New York State Department of Correctional Services will pay almost $1 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The department was accused of providing inferior benefits to female employees on maternity leave. Both male and […]

Online Exclusive: Sample Policy on Deductions from Pay

All deductions from an employee’s wages will be made in accordance with applicable law and, when required, the employee’s consent. Deductions may be made from an employee’s wages for Social Security taxes, federal and state income taxes, child support, garnishment, and assignment of wages, as applicable. Employees will be notified of deductions due to court […]

Leave: Can We Change Our Policy to Limit Carryover of Accrued PTO Time?

We thought managing PTO was going to be easy, but we’ve found some problems with carryover of PTO hours. We currently allow unlimited carryover, but that’s going to cause some problems down the road (like three-month vacations). So we’d like to limit carryover. Is there a carryover rule? We really want to force employees to […]