Month: April 2010

IRS Releases HIRE Act Affidavit Form

The IRS recently released Form W-11, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit. The HIRE Act (H.R. 2847), a jobs bill President Barack Obama signed into law on March 18, 2010, provides tax breaks to employers that hire unemployed workers or individuals who were working only part-time in 2010. Under the HIRE Act, […]

‘Qualifying Exigency’—Military FMLA Clarified

"Qualifying exigency"—one of two types of military FMLA leave, and one of those great regulatory terms that gives the illusion of clarity but is hard to pin down in the real world. The FMLA allows qualified employees with family members actively or formerly in the military to take leave under two circumstances: qualifying exigency (we’ll […]

Maybe I’m Just Getting Old

I don’t consider myself old, but I think I might be getting a little crotchety as I age. Recently, I’ve found myself frequently annoyed with people. The cause of my crankiness? An apparent lack of concern about being on time. People today don’t seem to concern themselves with being on time for appointments, meetings, or […]

5 Hiring-Related Pitfalls to Avoid

Your managers may think they’re doing a good job of interviewing and hiring, says New York attorney Barbara Meister Cummins, but most of them are “traveling without a map.” Here are 5 of Cummins’s “Top Failures”:

Diabolical Laughter

This week’s episode was another repeat, and it was just as cringe-worthy as the first time it aired. Doug Hall did a fabulous job covering this episode in first run, so I’ll just use this space to talk about an issue that has been ongoing since the very first episode of the series: the personality clash […]

360 Reviews Are Badly Needed, as People Do Tend to Be Self-Delusional

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady The article title was one of the many responses to Bob Brady’s column of March 19, which asked for readers’ thoughts on 360 reviews. The results of his survey show that the practice is relatively common, but isn’t universally perceived as "great." One hundred and sixty-one readers participated […]

Alcoholism and ADA, FMLA Liability:What Employers Need to Know

by Brian Burbrink According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 17.6 million people — about one in 12 adults — abuse alcohol. Based on the statistics, odds are good that one or more of your employees suffers from alcoholism and may need treatment. The case illustrations below provide insight into avoiding liability […]

Calculating How Much FMLA Leave an Employee Has Available

As we all know, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period. Employers are allowed to define the 12-month period any way they wish — much like they are entitled to define the seven-day period that comprises a workweek […]

Controversial Immigration Reform Bill in the Works

by Hector A. Chichoni Senate Immigration Subcommittee Chair Charles Schumer (D-New York) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) are working together on a comprehensive immigration reform bill that they plan to introduce this year. In a recent Washington Post article, the senators laid out their plan’s “four pillars”: requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure that […]