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Reform Agencies Clarify Cost Sharing and Essential Services

A series of agency Q&As resolves a few questions relating to complying with federal health care reform, such as correctly counting participants’ out-of-pocket expenditures; wellness program reward administration; and the status of “carved-out” benefits. In latest set of Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury provide some […]

Healthcare Benefits—What’s Really Happening in 2014?

Health insurance benefits—bound to be the hot topic of 2014. How are people handling it out in the real world? What are your competitors up to? Help us find out! Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers […]

Healthcare Benefits—What’s Really Happening in 2014?

Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: How do 2014 plans compare to 2013? How are businesses dealing with the ACA? What types of health insurance plans are being offered in 2014? […]

Punter’s legal claims may be blocked

When they asked me to join the rotation of writers for Ford Harrison’s EntertainHR blog, I was a little nervous. After all, while we Minnesotans make headlines for things like our weather (the high temperature here last Monday was 13 degrees below zero) and electing professional wrestlers to high political office, we haven’t had a […]

Social Learning Technology for Companies of All Sizes

In fact, more than 65 percent of companies that participated in a recent survey reported that they are using social learning technology. “State of the Industry Study: A Pulse on Social Learning” surveyed 500-plus decision makers at companies of all sizes and in a variety of industries. The study, conducted by Saba®, in partnership with […]

HR’s flu season concerns: absenteeism, presenteeism, vaccinations, and employment law

by Michael Barnsback According to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu season “most commonly peaks in the U.S. in January or February.” In its last weekly flu advisory report, the agency reported that flu is widespread in more than half of the country and many states are reporting severe outbreaks. The CDC says “the […]

2nd Circuit Reverses Xerox Plan’s Use of ‘Phantom’ Offset

For the third time in eight years, a federal district court decision endorsing Xerox’s pension plan interpretation has been reversed, setting aside judicial deference usually granted to these interpretations under ERISA and moving Xerox retirees closer to winning final benefits. The issue in the case is how an earlier lump-sum distribution to some employees affects […]

A Bad Hire Is the Only Thing You Did Wrong

In many of the situations he experiences, Schickman says, the employer only did one thing wrong—it hired the wrong person. All the policies were in place and were followed, all the appropriate training was done, but more care was needed in the hiring process. (Schickman was the keynoter at the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held […]

Train Employees on Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)

Along with labels on containers and SDSs, employee training is one of the three core components of a comprehensive hazard communication program. Remember that under HazCom 2012, your employees not only have the right-to-know but also the right to understand the chemicals in the workplace and how to handle them safely. Training is needed to […]