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PCORI Fees–Your Turn to Fund health Care Research

Get ready for one more requirement of the Affordable Care Act—the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fee. It’s a fee your plan pays to fund government research into the effectiveness of certain treatments. What Is the Amount of the Fee? The fee is: $1 times the average covered lives for policy years ending on or […]

IRS Proposes Rule on Reimbursed Entertainment Expenses

Employers that pay advances, allowances or reimbursements to employees for work-related entertainment expenses — including taxpayers who, in turn, get reimbursed by their clients for such expenses — have until Oct. 30 to comment on a proposed regulation IRS published Aug. 1. The proposed rule clarifies who — among the employer, its client and an […]

Election results halt minimum wage initiatives in two Maine cities

by Connor Beatty On November 3, voters in Portland and Bangor rejected attempts to raise the minimum wage in those cities. In Portland, voters rejected a proposal that would have increased the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. The ordinance would have required all businesses and franchises employing 500 or more employees to raise […]

Taxmageddon on the Horizon?

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Taxmageddon is coming says Michael Aitken, SHRM’s Vice President, Government Affairs. If no action is taken by Congress, things could get especially tough for government contractors and military suppliers. What’s Taxmageddon? Taxmageddon comes at the end of 2012, when the payroll tax and unemployment benefits extension […]

News Notes: “Exempt” Drugstore Managers Sue For Millions In Unpaid Overtime

Rite Aid Corp. has been slapped with a class action lawsuit claiming that as many as 1,600 managers and assistant managers at approximately 800 drugstores in California were improperly classified as exempt from overtime. The employees charge that Rite Aid put pressure on managers to deny overtime to hourly clerks and, as a result, managers […]

Disability Bias: Verdict Upheld for Worker Refused Reinstatement Based on Past Violent Behavior; What to Do

When Joshua Josephs applied for a service tech position with Pacific Bell Telephone Co., he checked “no” to the job application question, “Have you ever been convicted of, or are you awaiting trial for, a felony or misdemeanor?” Josephs was hired for the position, which required him to install and repair phones unsupervised in homes, […]

Do Your Workers Know How to Respond to Workplace Violence?

Violent behavior can erupt anywhere. Consider these statistics: Homicide is the third-leading cause of work-related deaths. According to studies, as many as 1 million Americans each year are the victims of nonfatal work-related assaults. While the highest percentage of workplace assaults are in the service, healthcare, and retail industries, incidents of violence occur in all […]

Financially Stressed Employees–Neither Happy Nor Productive

Businesses aren’t the only ones stressed and anxious about these difficult economic times. Employees (and their families) are also feeling the effects—and many employees are facing very serious financial problems such as burdensome debt, lost income, bankruptcies, and foreclosures. Employees experiencing increased financial stress at home are likely to have a hard time keeping their […]

Supreme Court Defers Illegal Worker Racketeering Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has deferred ruling on a closely watched lawsuit that poses the question of whether an employer can be sued under the federal racketeering and organized crime law for recruiting illegal immigrants with the purpose of suppressing salaries for legal workers.

News Notes: Supreme Court Upholds Tough Standard For Polling Union Workers

The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified the rules for when employers can poll unionized workers about their support for the union.The case involved a Mack Truck dealership that had recently changed ownership. Several employees allegedly made statements to the new employer indicating they did not want to be part of the existing union. When the […]