February, 2009

Background Checks Online: Can Googling or Facebooking a Potential Hire put You at Legal Risk?

35% of hiring managers use Google to conduct background checks on job applicants.  23% investigate candidates on networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. One in three of those searches result in the rejection of the applicant, according to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute.

Ford Retiree Health Payments Will Go Into Trust Fund

Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers announced agreement on Feb. 24 to fund health benefits for retirees through a health-care trust fund. The deal would allow Ford to pay as much as half of its $13.

Guide to the Final FMLA Revised Regulations

This report discusses the evolution of the final revised rules under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which are effective Jan. 16, 2009, and recommends strategies for employers to maintain compliance with them.

Economic Stimulus Law Gives Short-term Boost to Transit Benefits

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, signed into law on Feb. 17, provides a temporary boost to mass transit and vanpool benefits that companies can provide to their employees.

From March 1, 2009 through the end of 2010, employers either can (1) fund certain employee commuting expenses themselves and get a corresponding tax deduction, or (2) allow their employees to fund their own expenses tax-free, through a qualified transportation fringe benefits (QTFB) plan.

DOL Provides Online Penalty Calculator, Payment Option

Employers and plan administrators now can calculate any penalties they may owe and make the requisite payments online. The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) have developed a new online means for employers to determine the civil penalties they owe under the delinquent filer voluntary compliance (DFVC) program and to pay those penalties online with a debit or credit card.

Judge Invalidates Milwaukee's Mandatory Sick Leave Provision

Milwaukee's mandatory citywide paid sick-leave ordinance ratified by voters in a Nov. 2008 referendum was invalidly enacted and is unconstitutional, a county circuit judge ruled on June 12.

Under the ordinance, employers in the city would have to give their employees nine paid sick days per year.

Surge Reported in Working Off-site

More than 17 million Americans work remotely at least one day a month, a 39 percent increase from 20006, according to WorldatWork, a human resources association, and Dieringer Research Group.

The report, based on a telephone survey of 1,002 workers, estimates 11 percent of all workers telecommute at least once a month.

CDHP Adoption Tops 50 Percent, Survey Finds

More than 50 percent of employers surveyed offer their employees a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP), compared to 47 percent who offered these plans in 2008, according to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt.

Wellness Programs Yield Positive ROI, Survey Shows

As employers and employees continue to face mounting health care costs, employer-sponsored wellness programs are showing a positive return on investment (ROI) as high as $4 for each dollar spent, a recent survey found.

White House and Treasury Unveil Guidelines on Executive Pay and Perquisites

The White House and U. S. Treasury Department unveiled a set of much-anticipated guidelines Feb. 4, capping executive pay and putting transparency requirements on other “perquisites” for financial bailout recipients.