Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In a recent survey, employees saw their workplaces sadly lacking in organizational teamwork. Here are some ideas from a new BLR audio training program that your supervisors can use to build effective teams. Regular Daily Advisor readers know that we’ve recently been heavily involved in a project called the National Employee Attitude Survey (NEAS). The […]
If an employee makes unjustified complaints about wages and hours, you may be tempted to brand the person as a troublemaker. You might even take disciplinary action if the griping continues. But a new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling cautions that even a one-employee protest can be a protected activity under federal labor law-landing […]
by Gary S. Fealk Businesses often find it advantageous to hire independent contractors to perform a variety of duties in place of employees. Using independent contractors can reduce expenses for payroll taxes and benefits, avoid the impact of laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and […]
The IRS and Treasury Departments recently published final regulations providing guidance on the new Roth 401(k) plans, along with a handy list of questions and answers about these plans. Designated Roth contributions allow for employees to designate all or a portion of their 401(k) employee deferrals as Roth contributions, which would receive treatment much like […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services responded to doubts over whether health insurance exchanges (now formally referred to as “marketplaces”) would verify incomes consumers applying for health-insurance subsidies, which come in the form of: (1) advances on tax credits for premiums; and (2) reduced cost-sharing. Marketplaces will always use data from tax filings and […]
We know that we’re supposed to make a “genuine” offer of employment before we require medical tests and so on. But what do we do when we are waiting for one more reference to come back or the results of a background check? (We can do the background check before the offer, right?) Do we […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has once again delayed enforcement of its new record-keeping rule that would, among other things, limit an employer’s ability to conduct postaccident drug and alcohol testing. As first reported by McAfee Taft attorney Paige Hoster Good, OSHA agreed to delay enforcement of the rule until December 1, 2016. […]
Franchisers in Seattle are faced with phasing in the city’s $15-an-hour minimum wage more quickly than they had hoped now that the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected their bid to be classified as small businesses, a decision the franchisers call discriminatory. In 2014, Seattle passed a minimum wage law that requires employers […]
Compensation pros know wage and hour isn’t simple. The fed’s rules are complicated enough, and then add California’s twists and employees’ shenanigans, and you’ve got a challenging job.
By Jane Pfeifle Though a similar measure was narrowly defeated in 2006, this year South Dakota resoundingly rejected Initiative 13, which called for the legalization of medical marijuana. As a result employers can breathe a sigh of relief because the measure raised numerous questions about how they might be called on to respond to employees […]