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Feds Provide Form for Companies to Attest Objections to Reform’s Contraceptive-coverage Mandate

New health reform rules finalize policies for non-profit organizations that object on religious or moral grounds to gain an exemption from having to “contract, arrange, pay or refer for” contraceptive coverage.  The final rules reflect public feedback received in response to Feb. 6, 2013 proposed rules (78 Fed. Reg. 8456). In the proposed rule, the […]

Google Points the Way to Productive Meetings

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Everyone says they hate meetings—yet they are a staple of 21st century business ritual. If we can’t meet in person, we do them on the phone or, increasingly, through such nifty gadgetry as GoToMeeting or Webex. Today, BLR’s founder and CEO Bob Brady shares what he’s learned from […]

Domestic Partners: New Law Expands Workplace Rights

Gov. Davis has signed into law a sweeping measure that expands domestic partner rights on insurance, sick leave and other issues. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2002. Expanded Workplace Rights For Domestic Partners These are the measure’s key provisions that will affect employers: Domestic partner definition. Domestic partners will include opposite-sex couples if at […]

News Notes: Workplace Injury And Illness Rates Decline

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the number of injuries and illnesses in private industry workplaces continued to edge down in 2001. The 2001 rate of 5.7 injury-and-illness cases per 100 full-time workers was not only an 8% decline from 2000 but also the lowest rate since the agency began reporting this […]

Short Takes: Performance Goals

We have a service repair technician who is required to repair 12 instruments a year, but due to a 3-month Family and Medical Leave Act absence was only able to repair 6. May we view him as an unsatisfactory performer and reduce his merit raise?

Should We Train Managers As We Do Shamu the Whale?

BLR founder Bob Brady’s look at manager training may be tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a really important principle behind it. There was a wonderful article by author Amy Sutherland in The New York Times recently. She wrote about how animal training technique helped her train her husband. The article could help us train managers and supervisors, […]

Short Takes: Bereavement Leave

Does the law require us to provide bereavement leave?  Our HR Management & Compliance Report: How To Comply with California and Federal Leave Laws, covers everything you need to know to stay in compliance with both state and federal law in one of the trickiest areas of compliance for even the most experienced HR professional. […]

Supreme Court Upholds Healthcare Reform Law

Reporting by Kyle Emshwiller and Jessica Webb-Ayer The wait is over: The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that the massive healthcare reform law (also known as the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) enacted in March 2010 is constitutional. So what happened, and what does this mean for employers? The wait is over: The U.S. Supreme […]

The Truth About Juries: Court in the Real World

Are juries worried about whether the facts meet the second prong of a prima facie case? asks attorney Edward M. Richters, No, they get to the jury room, and someone says, “Boy, did that guy get hosed.” Or, maybe, “She had it coming to her.” Bottom line, says Richters, “How would I want to be […]