Employee Benefits / Employment Law / HR
Showing 609–624 of 653 results
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Offensive language can create a hostile work environment
November / December 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 727
Abstract: Did daily exposure to language and radio programming that could be construed as offensive to women but wasn’t targeted at the plaintiff meet the elements of a hostile-work-environment claim under Title VII? The Eleventh Circuit decided that it did. Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 525 F.3d 1139 (11th Cir. 2008)
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Employee fired for on-the-job sleeping alleges retaliation
November / December 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 642
Abstract: The Eighth Circuit ruled that firing an employee for sleeping on the job wasn’t a pretext for retaliating against him for having previously complained of national-origin discrimination. Soto v. Core-Mark International Inc., 521 F.3d 837 (8th Cir. 2008)
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When must employers pay for commuting time?
November / December 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 613
Abstract: That was the question before the Second Circuit when fire-alarm inspectors alleged they were entitled to portal-to-portal pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act because the briefcases of documents they were required to carry to and from work increased their commuting time. This article explains why the court didn’t buy their argument. Singh v. The City of New York, 524 F.3d 361 (2d Cir. 2008)
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Make corrections before they cost you
October / November 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 851
Abstract: Retirement plans must achieve and maintain qualified plan status to avoid plan disqualification and surrendering tax-advantaged status. Both the Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS take into consideration that mistakes happen for various reasons. This article discusses the DOL and IRS programs that plan sponsors can use to correct violations.
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Why a cash balance plan may be right for you
October / November 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 933
Abstract: Before the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), cash balance plans operated basically without official IRS approval because the agency didn’t issue many determination letters for them. Provisions in the PPA gave these plans the green light, however, and cash balance plans can stand up and take a bow. This article takes a closer look at what these plans are and the types of organizations that can benefit from them.
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“WRAP” welfare benefit plan documents
October / November 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 292
Abstract: When an employer provides several “welfare” benefits, such as health, dental and vision coverage, the Department of Labor (DOL) considers each benefit its own separate plan. These individual plans require separate Form 5500 filings. This brief article examines a common technique in which employers can “wrap” their welfare plans into a single plan.
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In-service distributions – Show them the money
October / November 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 755
Abstract: When are active employees eligible to take an “in-service” distribution from a qualified retirement plan? Participants may think that, because the money is “theirs,” they can get to it at any time. This article reviews when in-service distributions are allowed.
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Diabetes and the ADA
September / October 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 891
Abstract: The question before the court was whether an employee’s Type II diabetes interfered with the major life activity of eating, qualifying her as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This article discusses why the court held that a trial was necessary to establish the facts. A sidebar to this article discusses why the Sixth Circuit held that diabetes wasn’t a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act in the case of a plaintiff who failed to prove that he was substantially limited in the major life activities of seeing and caring for himself. Robbins v. WXIX Raycom Media, S.D. Ohio, No. 1:06cv278, 3/5/08. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002). McPherson v. Federal Express Corp., No. 03-2006B, 2005 WL 3008648 (W.D. Tenn. Nov. 8, 2005).
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Employer needn’t provide Sabbath observer’s preferred accommodation
September / October 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 609
Abstract: This article explains why the Fourth Circuit ruled that an employer had reasonably accommodated the religious beliefs of a worker who was unable to work on Saturdays and religious holidays. EEOC v. Firestone Fibers and Textiles Co., 06-2203 (4th Cir. Feb. 11, 2008).
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Sexual harassment suit hinges on physician’s employment status
September / October 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 754
Abstract: The Second Circuit had to decide whether a specialist was a hospital employee, and thus eligible to sue for harassment under Title VII, or an ineligible independent contractor. This article discusses why the court held she was a hospital employee. Salamon v. Our Lady of Victory Hospital, 2d Cir., No. 06-1707, Jan. 16, 2008. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Darden, 796 F.2d 701 (4th Cir. 1991).
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Does job title exempt an employee from overtime pay?
September / October 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 758
Abstract: That was the question before the Eleventh Circuit. This article explains why the court held that a grocery chain’s laid-off “store managers” were entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act because their primary duties weren’t managerial. Rodriguez v. Farm Stores Grocery, Inc., F.3d, 2008 WL 215817, C.A.11 (Fla.), January 28, 2008 (NO. 06-13303, 06-13186).
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How to identify and correct SIMPLE or SEP plan errors
August / September 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 395
Abstract: The IRS is well aware that some plan sponsors and administrators struggle to keep their Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLEs) and Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans in compliance. This brief article outlines what plan sponsors and administrators of these types of plans should be aware of, and the resources available to correct plan failures.
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Education never ends – Keep your plan participants up to date
August / September 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 631
Abstract: Plan sponsors have a fiduciary responsibility to educate their participants in retirement planning. Many plan sponsors believe they have education covered with normal vendor/broker enrollment meetings and stuffers sent in the participant statements. Although these offerings are a good start, several studies by a Stanford University economics professor have shown that these passive forms of education are ineffective and often ignored by participants. This article discusses how education can affect your employee benefit plan.
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Are your plan documents ready for EGTRRA restatement?
August / September 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 818
Abstract: It’s common for qualified retirement plans to use preapproved IRS plan documents. The IRS, however, has “restated” many of the prototype documents this year to comply with the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), and plan sponsors will need to restate their plan documents to match those of the IRS by April 30, 2010. This article takes a look at what this means for plan sponsors.
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Defining the role of a plan fiduciary
August / September 2008
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 924
Abstract: If you’re a retirement plan sponsor, no doubt you’ve heard or read the term “fiduciary” quite a bit. But does it include you? If it does, should you worry about innocent plan mistakes or only significant reporting matters? This article helps define who is a plan fiduciary and discusses the implications for plan sponsors.
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WARN Act doesn’t require double payment of wages
July / August 2008
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 558
Abstract: This article discusses laid-off employees’ claims that their ex-employer owed them wages under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act even though they had begun to work for a successor company. The Fourth Circuit rejected their claim that they had suffered an employment loss, defined as “an employment termination other than a discharge for cause, voluntary departure, or retirement,” on the day the plant shut down. WARN requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice of the date of employment loss resulting from a shutdown, not from the date of the shutdown itself. Long v. Dunlop Sports Group Americas