Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Here are recommended items to check to see if your HRIS is up to the mark. (It’s just as useful for those considering HRIS). Records Maintained Does your system maintain the following personnel records: Employee personal data? Marital status? Number of dependents? Spouses and dependents covered by other health plans? Part-time/fulltime? Leased employees? Employees’ skills? […]
During training, you need to monitor the e-learning process to ensure employees are progressing on schedule. Once training has been completed, you need to evaluate the effectiveness of your e-learning programs. Because you are not present while training is taking place—as you are with traditional forms of training—monitoring and evaluating e-learning can be a bit […]
Under COBRA’s small-employer exception, employers with fewer than 20 employees do not have to offer COBRA coverage upon what would otherwise be “qualifying events.” This determination is made based on how many employees were employed, on average, during the prior calendar year. When purchasing group coverage, it is important for employers to be mindful of […]
Turnover Makes Us happy When the people leaving the organization are exactly those you wished would leave, you can applaud turnover. Unfortunately, that’s not likely to happen. The employees you wish would leave usually hang on doggedly. (Who else would want them?) And of course, some degree of turnover is to be expected and is, […]
When conducting privacy training on electronic monitoring, share the following case study with your employees: In this case, Janice Collins complains to her supervisor Bill Smith that one of her male co-workers, Jerry Bartolli, is viewing pornographic websites on the job. Furthermore, Collins says that Bartolli has been sending sexually explicit e-mails to several female […]
Sending a COBRA election notice shortly after an employee began military duty was not evidence that an employer fired the employee due to his military status in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, a federal district court in Arkansas held. In generally rejecting the USERRA claims, the court indicated, among other […]
An employer whose COBRA/leave policy did not align with a stop-loss policy’s terms continues to be on the hook for a COBRA qualified beneficiary’s medical claims that were rejected by the stop-loss insurer. The employer unsuccessfully appealed a lower court ruling that the claims were ineligible under the policy terms because they did not include […]
Summer’s here, and coincidentally, it’s a hot time for legal and regulatory developments affecting human resources and benefits professionals! Many companies trying to make ends meet also should expect new laws and regulations in these five areas. The perils of not heeding leave and disability law. Employers struggle with determining what a “reasonable accommodation” is under […]
A former employee’s failed attempt to call COBRA coverage a “privately paid” policy, rather than an ERISA plan, in order to maintain state-law claims against a group health insurer offers a chance to remind employers about importance of knowing the legal status of their benefit plans. In the case, the individual sued the insurer for […]
The failure to administer COBRA continuation coverage notices correctly can cost employers and plan administrators money, time and aggravation, says COBRA expert Paul M. Hamburger, Esq. of Proskauer Rose LLP. He provides four tips they can use to help avoid COBRA notice missteps: (1) prepare clear, accurate and complete COBRA notices; (2) be sure to […]