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Cigna Corp. has agreed to shell out $8.9 million to settle a government fraud lawsuit triggered by an employee’s allegation of over-billing. The employee had disclosed that Connecticut General Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Cigna, was overcharging the Health Care Financing Administration for photocopy charges. The employee claimed that when the company made two-sided copies, […]
The cover story in the March issue of California Employer Advisor highlights several important provisions of the new Interim Wage Order, which took effect March 1. Now the Industrial Welfare Commission has announced that it will hold a hearing to discuss proposed changes to the wage order. The hearing will take place in Sacramento on March 31. Some […]
In other wage and hour news, the Industrial Welfare Commission has announced the creation of two new wage boards. The boards will be responsible for establishing wage orders for the on-site construction, mining, drilling and logging industry and for the computer industry. Nominations for the construction, mining, drilling and logging industry wage board must be […]
This year looks to be another blockbuster in terms of new employment-related legislation. Next month, we’ll have a full report from Sacramento and Washington, including details on a federal proposal now supported by the beleaguered U.S. Department of Labor to overturn its recent opinion letter and exempt stock options from overtime pay calculations. We’ll also update […]
Rigid administrative requirements make many employers hesitate to participate in so-called 401(k) safe-harbor plans. But these programs can prove valuable because they permit you to avoid costly discrimination testing requirements by following a specific formula for contributions. Now the IRS has issued new rules that add some flexibility. Significant changes include revising the way matching […]
In the February issue of CEA, we reported on a controversial U.S. Department of Labor advisory opinion that said you might have to include stock option profits in an hourly worker’s base pay and retroactively recalculate overtime figured on the new pay rate. The ruling has come under fire not just from employers, but also […]
A pension plan with fewer than 100 participants is generally exempt from the complicated and expensive accounting and reporting requirements that apply to larger programs. But in response to recent reports suggesting that small pension plans are vulnerable to employer embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, the federal government has proposed new rules requiring you to […]
Bank of America recently learned the perils of terminating workers over age 40. One of its managers offhandedly suggested that a laid-off older employee retire, then later promised to help her get an interview for another bank job. However, he never followed through. Unfortunately for the bank, a jury believed that these incidents, along with […]
In recent years, government agencies and female employees alike have increasingly focused on shattering the corporate glass ceiling. Now, a new California Court of Appeal decision demonstrates that failing to review your promotion practices before a gender-bias complaint surfaces can be an expensive mistake.
In an advisory opinion that could give employers headaches, the U.S. Department of Labor says you may have to include stock option profits in an hourly worker’s base pay and retroactively calculate their overtime using the new pay rate. Although it’s unclear just how far-reaching this opinion will be, it raises some complicated issues that […]