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An employer violated the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act when it asked applicants and employees for information about their medical history, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Sept. 17. BNV Home Care Agency, Inc., a New York City home care services agency, required applicants to complete an “Employee Health Assessment” after […]
As the transition period for amending business associate agreements draws to a close, HIPAA experts have highlighted some issues for plan sponsors to keep in mind. Under last year’s HIPAA/HITECH omnibus rules, all contracts with business associates must be compliant with the rules by Sept. 22. Obviously, group health plans and other HIPAA-covered entities that […]
by Connor Beatty Picture this: A manager calls his subordinates into a conference room and asks them to write down their salary and pin it to a board for everyone to see. The thought of that may make some of you cringe worse than many of the moments on reality TV. In fact, this idea […]
Although the actual games have been overshadowed lately by the off-the-field misbehavior of some of the players, the NFL season opened last week. And if you listened closely enough, you could almost hear HR managers and small business owners across the country yelling at their employees, “Get off your fantasy football website and get back […]
by Monique Orieux Last year in Northern Exposure we shared five key lessons about Canadian employment contracts arising from the trial court’s decision in Miller v. Convergys CMG Canada Limited Partnership. The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently issued its decision in the case: Miller v. Convergys CMG Canada Limited Partnership, 2014 BCCA 311. Its […]
Dedicated, hardworking—and maybe even long-suffering—employees deserve rewards. Sometimes the appropriate reward is a well-deserved raise, but money isn’t always the best solution. And in today’s world of tight budgets, it’s often not even a possibility. But employers wanting to show appreciation have other options. In the Business & Legal Resources webinar “Small Budget, Big Employee […]
E-mails, audio recordings, and video surveillance. This trifecta of evidentiary support was put front and center in two disturbing incidents from the sports world that made headlines in the past week. Earlier this week, Atlanta Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson stepped down, stating his intention to sell the team, because of a 2012 e-mail that he […]
by Jeffrey A. Gruen The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will now refer all untimely retaliation claims to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to determine whether an employer engaged in an unfair labor practice (ULP) under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Background On March 6, 2014, David Michaels, OSHA’s assistant secretary of […]
by David McDonald When an employee announces that he or she is resigning in order to go work for a competitor, it is only natural for an employer to become anxious—particularly when the departing employee has access to the business’s confidential information. Complicating matters further is the technological ease with which an employee can wrongfully […]
A former employee of a Massachusetts-based health insurer pleaded guilty to one count of illegal disclosure of Social Security numbers, after federal prosecutors alleged she stole plan members’ SSNs and other personal identifying information as part of a scheme to defraud the government. Emeline Lubin faces a possible prison sentence of up to five years […]