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We recently reported that the U.S. House of Representatives had approved a bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 over a period of 26 months. Now, the Senate has approved similar legislation, which, unlike the House measure, would provide tax breaks to small businesses to offset the economic impact of paying a higher […]
In his State of the Union address to the nation last week, President Bush outlined a new plan to expand health care coverage for Americans. The plan would create a standard health insurance tax deduction, which would also act as a cap on the amount of employer-provided healthcare benefits that are tax-exempt.
On August 17, 2006, President Bush signed the sweeping Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4) into law. The bill, which is the most comprehensive overhaul of pension laws in 30 years, will: require employers to fully fund pensions, with time limits for funding shortfalls; encourage more employers to use automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans; […]
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have approved the Pension Protection Act of 2006. President Bush is expected to sign the measure, which is the most comprehensive overhaul of pension laws in 30 years.
In 2002, President Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, designed to deter corporate corruption and protect employees who blow the whistle on corporate transgressions. Now the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the agency designated to handle whistleblower complaints under the act, has released final rules regarding the complaint filing and investigation process. […]
A recent proposal made by President Bush would grant temporary legal status to those undocumented immigrants who are already working in the United States if an employer vouches for them. Legal status would be granted for a maximum of six years. Workers who do not qualify for green cards by the end of the period […]
In response to the highly publicized corporate accounting scandals involving Enron, WorldCom and a host of other companies, President Bush recently signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, creating tougher new rules for auditing and financial disclosures at publicly traded companies and for protecting shareholders’ interests. The new law also has some serious implications—including both civil […]
In the largest corporate bankruptcy in the nation’s history, thousands of Enron employees lost their retirement savings after the company stock invested in their 401(k) plans became worthless. Now, in the wake of Enron’s collapse, Congress is considering a raft of legislation to reform 401(k) plan rules.
Congress recently approved expanded benefits for retirement savings as part of President Bush’s massive tax cut bill. We’ll run down the major changes that will affect employers and employees.