|
|
Signals that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is ramping up enforcement became clearer with the levying of a record $87,430,000 proposed penalty against BP Products North America Inc. on October 30.
The previous largest penalty, $21 million, was issued in 2005, also against BP, according to OSHA.
Each year we survey our readers to find out more about them – and let them find out more about each other. Most of you wear many hats and compared to previous years’ results a number of you appear to have added more in 2009. At the same time, many of you have fewer people in your department. It’s obvious from your answers to the essay question — how did your department change in 2009 and how do you expect it to change in 2010 — this combination of more duties and fewer hands is an incredible challenge.
One of the new questions we asked this year was about self-service HR functions. About one-third of survey respondents said their employee handbook and benefits information was a self-service function and offered online. Based on your answers to the essay question, this will continue to be a growing trend.
Update Dec. 21, 2009: President signs bill including COBRA subsidy extension
Representative Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) introduced the Extended COBRA Continuation Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 3930) this week in the U.S. House of Representatives. The proposed bill would extend the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which President Barack Obama signed into law in February.
Congress has moved with surprising speed in passing legislation to expand the situations in which an employee may take military caregiver leave and qualifying exigency leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The “Supporting Military Families Act of 2009″ was only introduced in the House and Senate in late July. Now it has been tacked on to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010, which has been approved in both houses of Congress and sent to President Barack Obama. He is expected to sign the legislation.
The Supporting Military Families Act enacts several major changes to the military family leave provisions of the FMLA: read more…
By Michelle Sullivan, Holland & Hart LLP
Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, issued a statement on October 2 indicating that employers awaiting guidance before implementing changes to medical plans required by the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 should not expect regulations to be issued until January 2010 — after the law goes into effect for calendar-year plans. In the absence of regulations, plan sponsors should make a reasonable “good-faith” effort to adhere to the law’s intent.
On October 23, 2009, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster, which includes information on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
The poster was updated to include information about GINA, specifically that employers are prohibited from discriminating against applicants and employees on the basis of genetic information or genetic test results.
HRHero.com and M. Lee Smith Publishers is making its Pandemics and H1N1 sample policy available to everyone. The policy covers topics such as employee leave, alternative work arrangements, preventing the spread of contagious illnesses in the workplace, and much more.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has declared H1N1 influenza, commonly known as the Swine Flu, to be an epidemic. It seems like every national nightly news program brings more stories of outbreaks, school closings, and even deaths — and it’s just the beginning of flu season. What’s a conscientious employer to do?
Take the HR Hero telecommuting and H1N1 quiz to test your knowledge of the rights and wrongs of setting up a telecommuting program in the office.
In a 14-9 vote, the Senate Finance Committee has approved Senator Max Baucus’ health care reform bill, titled America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009. All the Democrats on the committee and only one Republican voted for the legislation. Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican from Maine who helped work on the bill and whose vote has been the subject of much speculation, voted in favor of the legislation. She specified, however, that her vote is no indication of how she will vote on future versions of health care reform legislation.
Audio Conference: Health Care Reform Is Here: Impact and Answers for Employers offered April 22, May 6 and May 20
In the wake of the recent scandal involving late-night host David Letterman, Mike Maslanka, editor of Texas Employment Law Letter, provides advice on how to deal with the relationship dynamics between the top brass and their subordinates in his latest podcast. A top boss must never become romantically involved with a subordinate, says Maslanka.
In his podcast, Maslanka contemplates the pitfalls of such relationships, noting how employees always closely observe the top boss’ conduct, whether he or she is a CEO, a partner in a law firm, or a restaurant manager. If an employer has a strict anti-fraternization policy that states a supervisor who dates a subordinate will be fired and the boss engages in such behavior, Maslanka says not only will the policy mean nothing to employees, but “the boss will be deposed in every lawsuit filed by a supervisor fired under the rule.”
|
|||||||
