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Insurance

What keeps HR awake at night?

02/22/2011
Rising health care costs, implementing the new health care reforms, rapidly changing business and labor markets, growing regulatory complexity and managing the aging workforce top the list of challenges HR pros face. That’s what the Society for Human Resource Management found when it surveyed more than 9,000 practitioners.

New civil-union law means employers must make decisions

02/11/2011
Illinois’ new civil-union law—which gives new rights to same-sex and opposite-sex couples—goes into effect on June 1. It says couples united in civil unions are “entitled to the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections and benefits as are afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses….”

St. Paul cancer victim’s case may show ADAAA’s impact

02/09/2011
The tragic case of a St. Paul nurse who died of cancer may soon test the reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, now that the EEOC has filed a lawsuit alleging that her employer violated the law by refusing to accommodate her disability.

AK Steel settles, will pay more than $175 million to retirees

02/09/2011
AK Steel, based in West Chester outside Cincinnati, has settled a lawsuit brought by retirees after the company announced it would cut some retirees’ health benefits and begin charging premiums for others.

The postponed Medicare reporting requirement: what you need to know

01/28/2011
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently postponed until next year a requirement that certain partially self-insured employers must report any one-time or lump-sum payments to persons entitled to Medicare benefits. The requirement was to have applied to payments made in connection with settlements, judgments or awards involving the release of potential liability for medical expenses.

Sick employee riffed? Beware ERISA lawsuit

01/26/2011
Employees fired because they might drive up health care costs can probably sue under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which governs many employee benefits.

Courts want proof employers did what they claim they did

01/11/2011
It was big news last fall when it became apparent that some bank representatives involved in home foreclosures never even examined the court affidavits they were signing. Judges are becoming more reluctant to accept such sworn statements in litigation—and not just in cases involving foreclosures.

The HR I.Q. Test: January ’11

01/11/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Do small employers have to comply with COBRA?

01/07/2011
Q. We are a small company with only 12 employees. We are under the impression that our employees do not have rights under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) since it applies to larger employers. Are we correct?

11 for ’11: Big trends shaping comp & benefits

12/13/2010
Pay-for-performance and higher employee health care contributions look like they’ll remain fixtures of the post-recession comp and benefits landscape. Here are 11 other trends that could take a firm hold in 2011: