Tag: news

EEOC Develops Best Practices Against Caregiver Discrimination

By HR Hero Apr 22, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Apr 22, 2009

On April 22, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) offered employers new guidance and best practices on avoiding discrimination against workers with caregiving responsibilities. The best practices document is available online at www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiver-best-practices.html and illustrates proactive measures employers can take that go beyond federal non-discrimination requirements. It supplements a 2007 EEOC guidance document on unlawful […]

FTC, HHS Propose Rules, Seek Comments on Electronic Health Records

By HR Hero Apr 22, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Apr 22, 2009

Does your organization offer or plan to offer employees online or electronic personal health records (PHRs)? Can employees enter their personal health information into online programs that help them evaluate and improve their health, such as weight loss applications? If you’ve answered yes or if your organization provides electronic PHR programs to others, you should […]

Federal Contractors’ Deadline on E-Verify Moved to June 30

By HR Hero Apr 17, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Apr 17, 2009

Update: E-verify deadline moved to September 2009 The deadline for federal contractors and subcontractors to begin using the E-Verify system has once again been delayed –- this time to June 30. The rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees went into effect in January, but […]

Bo Obama and Pets in the Workplace

By HR Hero Apr 17, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Apr 17, 2009

I’m going to break with my usual business-oriented notes from the editor this week to write about something near and dear to my heart — dogs. After months of anticipation and speculation, the Obama family finally got their new dog, Bo (pictured on the left), this week and introduced him to the world. While the […]

Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission Adopts Draft of Paid Sick Leave Rules

By HR Hero Apr 13, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Apr 13, 2009

On April 1, 2009, the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission (ERC) adopted a draft of the City of Milwaukee Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Administrative Rules. These rules establish the standards and procedures the ERC will use for both the implementation and the enforcement of the ordinance by the ERC should the current legal challenge to the […]

H-1B Visas Still Available for 2010

By HR Hero Apr 8, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Apr 8, 2009

In a remarkable about-face from the past few years, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today that after a week of receiving petitions for H-1B nonimmigrant visas, the 65,000 cap for the coming fiscal year hasn’t been reached. For the past several years, the USCIS has received far more petitions for H-1B […]

IRS Issues New COBRA Guidance for Employers

By HR Hero Apr 2, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Apr 2, 2009

Update Dec. 16: House Passes COBRA Subsidy Extension and Expansion The IRS has issued guidance on the COBRA premium assistance or subsidy provisions of the economic stimulus bill recently passed in Congress. Under the provisions, eligible employees who were involuntarily terminated from their jobs between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, and their qualified […]

EEOC Violated the FLSA? Oops

By HR Hero Mar 31, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Mar 31, 2009

An arbitrator has ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) practice of giving comp time to employees who worked extra hours didn’t meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The ruling stems from a 2006 grievance protesting the EEOC’s reclassification of certain investigators and mediators as exempt from overtime under […]

Changes to the Employers Forum on HRHero.com

By HR Hero Mar 27, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Mar 27, 2009

The Employers Forum has always been a popular hangout on HRhero.com, but it was time to give it a facelift and incorporate the latest technology. We have upgraded the forum platform to vBulletin, which is used by many Fortune 500 companies. The new platform provides all you forumites with improved security, a better spam filter, […]

Investigation Accuses Wage and Hour Division of Blunders that Fail Workers

By HR Hero Mar 26, 2009 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Mar 26, 2009

After a nine-month undercover investigation into the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ability to enforce and investigate violations of federal minimum wage, overtime, and child labor laws, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports serious failures. The report, which was released March 25, was prompted by a request from the House Education and Labor Committee. The investigation […]