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Family-building benefits are very much “in the news.” Many employers are implementing new benefit programs to support employees in their journey to have children. In the excitement of rolling out these new benefits, it’s possible for employers to overlook obligations under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) that may attach to family-building benefit components. […]
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which stands for COBRA, has been around for a long time. Still, it remains the source of thorny compliance problems and a fertile ground for litigation. The sheer complexity of the COBRA scheme, and the timing issues involved, can throw off even the most diligent and conscientious employer. COBRA […]
No federal or state law requires an employer to publish an employee handbook. However, many HR and legal professionals consider handbooks a best practice. A well-crafted handbook can provide legal protection in a lawsuit should an employee claim they were unaware of the employer’s policies. Handbooks provide vital information on standards of conduct for employees, […]
Over the years, the NLRB has taken various positions regarding what activities might “chill” an employee’s right to organize, with some directors being very narrow in their interpretation and others extremely expansive. In evaluating whether language and severance agreements “chilled” these rights in 2020, the Board looked at both the plain language of the agreement […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, we are featuring a recent subscriber question that was sent into HR Hero®‘s HR Hotline, looking for advice how to proceed when an employee refuses to sign an updated handbook acknowledgement. Q: We have an employee who does not want to sign the new Employee Handbook acknowledgment form. What […]
Working parents consistently rank childcare benefits a top priority from employers, particularly in the post-COVID environment. Working parents, especially working moms, continue to leave the workforce at an unprecedented rate, citing child care as a major concern and often the key deciding factor in staying with an employer or in the workforce at all. The […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber regarding the WARN Act and the required notifications that must be provided ahead of a temporary layoff. Q: We are a privately owned company, based in Missouri, with […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber regarding the use of video surveillance in the workplace and if there are any obligations to notify employees. Q: We are a non-union food packager, based in Illinois, […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber regarding the accidental sharing of an employee personal information and an organization’s obligations to report the mistake. Q: A client of ours experienced a technical issue within their […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at HR Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber regarding a requested disability workplace accommodation where the validity is in question. What abilities, obligations, and limitations does an employer have to verify an employee’s medical accommodation […]