http://www.hrmorning.com Your daily dose of HR Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:37:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One in three companies has been hit with a wage-and-hour claim in the past year. Could you be next? The scary statistic comes courtesy of a recent study conducted by corporate compliance training firm ELT, Inc. More disturbing results: Wage and hour class action lawsuits now outnumber all other discrimination suits combined, ... http://www.hrmorning.com/newest-lawsuit-threat-wage-and-hour-claims/ It's now just a matter of weeks before the first healthcare reform provisions start kicking in for plan years beginning on Sept. 23 or later. But changes to your plans aren't the only things that are required. Employers must also provide their workforces with a slew of notices regarding the reform ... http://www.hrmorning.com/4-new-healthcare-notices-you-must-give-employees-now/ When it comes to the Family and Medical Leave Act, little things mean a lot. Especially little mistakes like miscalculating an employee's remaining FMLA leave entitlement. Check out this case: Legal secretary Vanessa McFadden requested leave after her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, her employer told her she had less FMLA ... http://www.hrmorning.com/one-small-mistake-big-fmla-consequences/ As people begin to lose their subsidies, a number of issues will crop up for many receiving COBRA coverage. And they're going to come to you with their questions. Here's help answering them. The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new fact sheet and three new FAQs to address the ... http://www.hrmorning.com/dol-issues-new-cobra-guidance/ A recent court decision confirms what we'd feared: Concern for employees and common sense have no place in disability discrimination cases. OK, that's probably a little harsh. But consider the case of one company that took steps to protect a pregnant worker – and subsequently lost a disability bias lawsuit. Trying ... http://www.hrmorning.com/in-ada-cases-being-helpfuls-not-always-a-good-idea/ On the heals of the feds issuing new regs that’ll make it easier for employees to appeal healthcare claims denials, the New York State Insurance Department has released info that shows just how effective these appeals can be. How many denials are likely to get reversed? Well, in New York ... http://www.hrmorning.com/47-of-healthcare-claims-denials-reversed-in-new-york/ Our team of experts fields real-life, everyday questions from HR managers and gives practical answers that can be applied by any HR pro in the same situation. Today’s question: What's the deadline for completing I-9 forms ... http://www.hrmorning.com/answers-to-tricky-hr-questions-whats-the-i-9-timetable/ With Labor Day just around the corner, it's critical that you know when to count holidays against an employee's FMLA leave entitlement. Miscalculating the amount of FMLA leave an employee has left can land your company in court and prove to be a very costly mistake. So it's critical that ... http://www.hrmorning.com/fmla-leave-when-labor-day-counts-against-entitlement/ In times when money is tight, some companies pump up employees' job titles as a way to sweeten smaller pay hikes. It's not a great idea. First of all, it's not very effective. Today's workers are acutely sensitive to their financial stresses, and they've grown cynical enough to recognize when ... http://www.hrmorning.com/inflated-titles-in-lieu-of-raises-could-be-dangerous/ Keeping healthcare costs down just became more daunting for employers -- at least in the short term. The feds just issued interim final regulations explaining the preventive services health plans must offer to participants without any co-pays, co-insurance or deductible requirements attached to them. By encouraging individuals to seek preventive care ... http://www.hrmorning.com/reform-gets-more-expensive-what-you-must-pay-for-now/