Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Mary Jo Larson Nearly every 401(k) plan offers its participants some investment options that include revenue-sharing fee payments. For many years, employers were not even aware that their participants’ investments were generating these payments. Today, in the wake of new U.S. Department of Labor disclosure and reporting rules and well-publicized cases attacking employers for […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued the Spanish version of the General Family and Medical Leave Act Notice poster, which incorporates changes in the new and revised regulations issued earlier this year. Under FMLA, a covered employer must post a copy of the General FMLA Notice in each location where it has any employees […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reached a settlement agreement with True North Hotel Group, Inc., stipulating that the Overland Park, Kansas-based company must pay $22,225 in back wages and compensatory damages to a former employee who was terminated in Massachusetts after notifying supervisors about safety concerns and filing a whistleblower complaint with DOL’s Occupational […]
A new rule taking effect January 1, 2015, means most direct-care workers employed by agencies and other third-party employers will be entitled to at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) says the change will affect nearly two million direct-care workers, such as home health aides, personal care […]
In a recent BLR webinar, Austin E. Smith lent his expertise to tell us about some of the challenges employers face when dealing with exempt vs. non-exempt employee classifications. For example, to meet the requirements for an administrative exemption, an employee must pass the “primary duty” test, which says that their primary duties must include […]
Federal contractors and subcontractors must soon meet a hiring goal for workers with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Aug. 27. New regulations have been finalized that will, among other things, require contractors to ensure that workers with disabilities make up 7 percent of their workforces. In addition to the hiring goal, the rules require that […]
Defining Contingent Workers Contingent workers are generally those who are hired through staffing firms or leasing companies and whose jobs are structured to last only a certain length of time. If a company does not clearly define a “contingent worker,” who is an employee, and who is not an employee, managers may start using contingent […]
We want our supervisors to manage and participate, but there are several circumstances in which they must step aside, says Attorney Mark Schickman. Schickman, who is a partner with Freeland Cooper & Foreman, LLP in San Francisco, offered his training tips at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR® and HR Hero®. When the Supervisor Is […]
Even organizations with the most rules and regulations get into trouble, Schickman says. It doesn’t matter how big you are, or how much money you have, or how many rules you have—if the supervisor doesn’t do the job, you’re in trouble. Schickman, who is a partner with Freeland Cooper & Foreman, LLP in San Francisco, […]
Concerns about the effect of lump-sum retiree distributions on the funded status of defined benefit pension plans with ongoing obligations to future beneficiaries were prominent as members of the ERISA Advisory Council tackled issues of “derisking” at a June 5 open meeting at the U.S. Department of Labor. There was high interest in the topic […]