On Friday, February 15, 2019, five employees of a manufacturer in Aurora, Illinois, were killed by an employee they were about to terminate as they met in a conference room. Among the victims were the human resources director and a young HR intern at his first day on the job. This is just the latest … Continued
Now that the partial government shutdown has ended, E-Verify operations have resumed. Employers understandably have questions on how to proceed for cases that could not be entered or updated while E-Verify was unavailable. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted an update online, including instructions for next steps. Employers that participate in E-Verify must … Continued
Many human resources and business leaders think about compliance in black-and-white terms. We simply check the boxes and evaluate compliance efforts using one measure: “Are we doing it right or not?” It’s easy to fall into the trap of failing to see the broader implications of our compliance efforts. We need to go beyond, “What’s … Continued
Question: Our company received a survey from the U.S. Census Bureau asking about the health coverage we offer to employees, how much it costs, etc. Is this an official survey? Do we have to provide the information? Answer: It appears your company has been randomly selected for the federal government’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). … Continued
Question: We give year-end bonuses based on attendance, and employees with a certain number of absences are disqualified. If an employee took FMLA leave, can we count those absences against them and withhold the attendance bonus? Answer: Yes, if you apply the rubric used to qualify employees for the bonus consistently across all “equivalent leave … Continued
As the holiday season approaches, the economy is humming along, unemployment is low, and companies are enjoying the fruits of corporate tax breaks. Time to celebrate? Not so fast, according to the 2018 Holiday Party Survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The survey found that just 65 percent of companies are holding holiday festivities this … Continued
On November 5, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2018-85 to announce that the health plan Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee for plan years ending between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019 will be $2.45 per plan participant. This is an increase from the prior year’s fee of $2.39 due to … Continued
OSHA released a preliminary list of its top 10 cited workplace safety violations for fiscal year 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017 – Sept. 30, 2018) last week at the National Safety Council Congress and Expo in Houston. Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OHSA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, presented the list, encouraging employers to use it as … Continued
Election Day is next Tuesday, November 6. Do you know what provisions, if any, you must make to accommodate your employees’ rights to vote? Time off for voting is not a federal requirement; however, 30 states have voting leave laws impacting the workplace. These state laws vary significantly. Not all leave is required to be … Continued
Getting married is a big leap. And you may be in the midst of a whole lot of planning—from when and where to have the wedding to whom to invite. But planning the wedding and honeymoon is just the start of your life together. As you start planning your future, don’t forget to put a … Continued