Month: August 2014

Determining whether variable-hour employees are entitled to offer of health insurance

by Gesina (Ena) M. Seiler Beginning January 1, 2015, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will require large employers (with 100 or more full-time and full-time equivalent, or FTE, employees–in 2016 it drops to 50 or more employees) to offer minimum essential health insurance coverage to at least 70 percent (increasing to 95 percent in 2016 […]

Your Manager’s Worst Sin—Envy, Greed, or Sloth?

[Go here for sins 1 to 4 and a bonus sin] Sin 5. Envy Envy makes managers do things that aren’t appropriate for the company. For example: Gaming the compensation system. For example, giving a higher-than-deserved performance rating in order to award a higher raise to an average employee who is high in the range. […]

New QLACs Establish Foundation for DC Annuitization

By Robert Toth Jr.     Lifetime income for 401(k) plans have been getting a lot of press, driven in large part by efforts by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Treasury to find ways to promote retirement security. IRS took a substantial step in making these defined contribution lifetime income efforts become a reality […]

ERISA Does Not Free Self-Funded Plans from Paying Michigan’s Claim Tax

The Self-Insurance Institute of America has lost a round in its battle against a state-imposed tax on ERISA health plans. In a new ruling, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Michigan’s health care claims tax withstood SIIA’s preemption arguments, because the law doesn’t interfere with the parts of plan administration reserved exclusively […]

7 Safety Training Tips for Forklifts on Rough Terrain

Rough terrain forklifts require the right operators to handle them and misuse can lead to serious accidents. The workhorses are designed to handle heavy loads and operate on challenging terrain. Most rough terrain forklift accidents are caused by operator error. The right training procedures can help your employees understand how to carefully operate the equipment […]

OFCCP Proposes Pay Data Reporting Rules for Federal Contractors

Certain federal contractors and subcontractors would have to submit summary data annually to the federal government that would identify employee compensation based on sex, race, hours worked and other factors, under new regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. The rules’ preamble called this “a critical tool for […]

OFCCP to issue proposed rule for federal contractors’ collection of comp data

by Federal Employment Law Insider The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the issuance of the long-awaited proposed rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to submit an annual Equal Pay Report on employee compensation to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register […]

Who Needs Forklift Training?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) takes forklift safety very seriously. In fact, they’ve beefed up the standard to include very specific operator training requirements. OSHA’s standard on Powered Industrial Trucks has specific requirements for operator training (29 CFR 1910.178 (l)(2)(ii)) that require a combination of formal training (classroom, videos, etc.) with practical instruction, […]