Tag: hiring

Questions and Answers on Reform’s Transitional Reinsurance Fee

Employers are understandably nervous about the transitional reinsurance fee, which health insurers and employer health plans must pay from 2014 through 2016. The fee will be collected by HHS, even though the states will tailor their own risk adjustment programs. It must be paid annually. Plans will probably make their first payment for 2014 a […]

Key Wage-and-hour Language to Have in Your Employee Handbook

To prevent the consequences from imprecise employee handbook language,  employers should regularly review their handbooks and written policies. Since wage and hour lawsuits make up a significant part of  litigation, W&H provisions can make a difference as you draft or review your employee handbook. Wage-and-hour related provisions should include pay details, safe harbor and state […]

H-1B visa deadline looms

by Elaine Young Employers wanting to hire foreign workers through the H-1B visa program need to be ready to file petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on April 1. U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields. The first […]

Court Rejects EEOC Guidance on Employee Alcohol Testing

An employer’s random alcohol testing of probationary employees did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite federal agency guidance to the contrary, a federal district court has ruled (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United States Steel Corp., No. 10–12 (W.D. Penn. Feb. 20, 2013)). EEOC sued on behalf of a class of employees, arguing […]

Can We Hire a Foreign Exchange Student as an Intern?

We are an accounting firm that frequently hires area college students to intern for short periods throughout the year. We recently received a few outstanding applications from foreign students attending the local college.  Can we hire foreign students as interns? The short answer is that yes, foreign students are eligible for paid employment off campus, […]

New Bill Would Require DOL to Follow its Own Rules

A newly introduced bill would require the U.S. Department of Labor to follow a rule it wants to impose on federal contractors. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is in the final stages of a rulemaking that would require federal contractors to aim to have workers with disabilities make up 7 percent of their […]

Deaf Lifeguard Was Entitled to Accommodations, Says 6th Circuit

A reasonable jury could conclude that an employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it failed to hire a deaf lifeguard, said the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning a lower court’s decision. The case, Keith v. County of Oakland (2013 WL 115647, No. 11–2276 (6th Cir. Jan. 10, 2013)) involved Nicholas Keith, […]