Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It’s time for employers to examine their health benefits to see if they’re in compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008, which takes effect on January 1, 2010. The law applies to most employers with more than 50 employees. It requires covered employers that offer a health insurance plan with mental […]
The federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued proposed regulations to address various issues regarding how federal employers may comply with the new military caregiver provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The proposed regulations are similar to the FMLA regulations issued last year by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). They […]
This week, a Maryland U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the U.S. government in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the E-Verify system (Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Napolitano). This means that beginning September 8, 2009, federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to use the E-Verify system to ensure their […]
You may feel as if you can’t get away from discussions and debates on health care reform. When you turn on the TV, browse the Internet, or listen to the radio, you may be inundated with the latest challenges, fights, and screaming matches over the subject. Although health care reform has become one of the […]
Delaware Governor Jack Markell has signed an executive order that broadens the scope of discrimination protection in state government workplaces. Specifically, the order prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression and extends discrimination protection to all military veterans (instead of just Vietnam War veterans). While discussing the executive order and his administration’s commitment to […]
The U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court today in a 68-31 vote. As expected, the Senators voted along party lines, with all Senate Democrats and only nine Republicans voting to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominee. The final step in Sotomayor’s road to the Supreme Court will be a White House […]
Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) today in the U.S. Senate. ENDA was previously introduced on June 24 in the U.S. House of Representatives. If passed, ENDA would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. According […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a new website – Disability.gov – offering information for people with disabilities, their family members, veterans, caregivers, employers, and others. The new site replaces DisabilityInfo.gov and features information about disability-related programs and services as well as social media tools to serve the more than 50 million Americans […]
Democrats have reportedly agreed to drop the card-check provision of the controversial Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The card-check provision would have made it much easier for employees to form labor unions by allowing a majority of employees to unionize by signing card-check petitions. Under this provision, employers would no longer have been able to […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a public hearing on July 15 to review recent developments under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The panel discussed the effects of widespread layoffs, threats to employee benefits, and controversial recent court decisions on older workers. The panelists testified in detail about the damaging effect […]