Employee Benefits / Employment Law / HR
Showing 513–528 of 653 results
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Fiduciary 101 – Responsibilities of being a plan sponsor or administrator
October / November 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 813
Abstract: Fiduciary responsibility. It’s a term used a lot, but what does it really mean? Many plan sponsors don’t fully understand the scope of their fiduciary responsibilities. Yet failing to comply with ERISA’s fiduciary requirements can affect the company that sponsors the plan — and even result in significant personal liability and penalties. This article reviews the basics of who is considered a fiduciary and what actions a fiduciary should and should not take.
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Temp agency caught in religious conundrum
September / October 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 886
Abstract: Federal law prohibits discrimination based on religious beliefs. But, when a Muslim job applicant insisted on always wearing her headgear as an article of her faith, a temporary employment agency didn’t refer her to a job at one client site on the grounds that the client banned all headwear for safety reasons. The agency offered her other opportunities, but she declined and filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC. This article explains why the appeals court decided in favor of the temp agency.
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Racism vs. reorganization – Sixth Circuit draws legal distinction in discrimination case
September / October 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 677
Abstract: Many companies opt to reorganize to cut employment costs and operate more efficiently. But when one restructuring resulted in a female African-American hospital chef being replaced by a white male, she served up a lawsuit. This article looks at the evidence she offered, and the appeals court’s conclusion that there was a reasonable inference that she’d been fired for racially motivated, discriminatory reasons.
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Could a medication’s side effects trigger ADA protection?
September / October 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 552
Abstract: Most cases involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) center on a bodily disability. But, in the event a worker’s medical condition doesn’t qualify as a disability, could harsh side effects from his or her medication still trigger ADA protection? That was the question faced by an appeals court. This article discusses the criteria that allow a medical treatment’s side effects to constitute a disability, and when an impairment should not be considered disabling.
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Chain reaction – Sexual harassment charges lead to age discrimination lawsuit
September / October 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 964
Abstract: This article discusses a 69-year-old man, terminated because of sexual harassment claims, who claimed that his dismissal on those grounds was a pretext to hide age discrimination. He cited a remark about his age made by the COO, but the appeals court ruled that this constituted a “stray remark” that by itself was insufficient to defeat summary judgment. However, a sidebar looks at a different case, in which age-related comments were not considered stray remarks.
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COMPLIANCE ALERT – Upcoming compliance deadlines:
August / September 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 32
Abstract: A brief list of key tax reporting deadlines for September.
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2009 Form 5500 filing requirements for one-participant plans
August / September 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 346
Abstract: Electronic filing of the Form 5500 became mandatory for most plan types in 2009. But even this rule has an exception. One-participant plans were still required to file their Form 5500-EZs with the IRS on paper by July 31. If the plan requested an extension, the paper Form 5500-EZ will be due on Oct. 15. (Please note that these deadlines are for calendar year plans.)
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Extended deadline for employer contributions is near
August / September 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 419
Abstract: To encourage employees to participate in their 401(k) plans, employers will often make contributions into the trust for plan participants. For example, employers will make matching contributions for eligible participants based on a participant’s elective deferral contribution into the plan. The employer can then deduct these contributions on its tax return — but only if the contributions were made by the IRS deadline.
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Time flies when you have a 401(k) plan – What you need to do now to prepare for year end
August / September 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 859
Abstract: The end of the calendar year is approaching and, with it, a host of employee benefit plan tasks. While it may seem months away, it’s never too early for employers to review what needs to be done between now and the end of the year. This article offers some questions employers should be asking.
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How will health care reform affect your plan?
August / September 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 894
Abstract: Health care reform has been big news this year. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (Reconciliation Act) provided significant changes to health care in the United States. But how will it affect businesses? This article discusses several of the immediate effects.
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Applicant’s failed drug test leads to questionable inquiries
July / August 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 553
Abstract: When a temporary employee failed a drug test after applying for a tech position, he was questioned by the Medical Review Officer in the presence of a supervisor. The applicant’s claim that the test results were based on an allowable prescription passed muster, and the MRO cleared the tech. But the supervisor told HR not to prepare an offer and instructed the temp agency that the tech was not to return to the company. The tech sued, claiming that the company had made an improper pre-employment medical inquiry. An appeals court explained why he was right.
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Is a disability an excuse for bad workplace behavior?
July / August 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 927
Abstract: An employee who puts a poster of Charles Manson in his cubicle and uses a company computer to surf Web sites about serial killers and assault weapons may seem a sure and justifiable target for termination. After this employee, claiming bipolar disorder, filed a lawsuit alleging that the company had failed to provide him with an accommodation, a U.S. district court weighed in.
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The Fair Labor Standards Act – Overtime case turns on employee’s sales activities
July / August 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 962
Abstract: Besides meeting a salary requirement, an employee must primarily perform work directly related to management policies or business operations in order to be exempt under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) standards. When a terminated ad salesperson charged that her company had failed to pay her overtime, an appeals court examined whether she was an administrative employee for the purposes of the FLSA and, thus, exempt from its overtime provisions. The judges ruled no, but a sidebar to this article looks at a case with a different outcome.
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Stereotypes: Inadvisable – Hotel chain greeted with unwelcome sex discrimination case
July / August 2010
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 621
Abstract: A hotel clerk was promoted on the basis of good performance, but when a Director of Operations saw her, she told the manager that the clerk lacked the “Midwestern girl look.” After the clerk was eventually fired, she filed a sex discrimination suit. Although appearance can play a role in some employment decisions, an appeals court found for the clerk.
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COMPLIANCE ALERT – Upcoming compliance deadlines:
June / July 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 35
Abstract: A brief list of key tax reporting deadlines for July.
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Keeping up with your employee contributions
June / July 2010
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 323
Abstract: After many years of confusion, the DOL issued final regulations providing a safe harbor rule for determining the timeliness of depositing employee deferrals of retirement and welfare benefit plans. The regulation became effective in January 2010. This brief article discusses the new regulation.