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March 23, 2010 - When President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at 11:56 this morning, it may have marked the beginning of the end of a year's worth of partisan politicking on health care reform.
It certainly signaled the start of massive changes in the way HR professionals handle employer-provided health insurance benefits. Although a companion "reconciliation" package of amendments tweaking the law must still pass the Senate-and Capitol Hill watchers say it will-the president's signature on the health care
reform bill means new obligations for insurance companies and new responsibilities for employers. Some of the new law's provisions take effect in a matter of weeks. (See "Get ready now for these health insurance changes" below.) Most other features of the health care overhaul won't take effect until 2014. The new law
has requirements for both employers and individual employees...
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With the unemployment rate still holding stubbornly near 10%, Congress this month approved a new $18 billion bill that offers tax breaks to employers who add certain new employees to the payroll.
President Obama signed it on March 18. The so-called Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act comes in two parts:
Immediate payroll tax relief for wages paid to certain new hires...
A new Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey of 2,000 HR professionals cites these as the top five competencies that senior HR leaders need to succeed today:...
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The change-up is one of the most potent pitches in baseball. Likewise, a change-of-pace interview question can give HR and hiring managers keen insight into a job candidate's analytical, creative and organizational thinking.
Here are 15 of the most intriguing interview questions from the more than 14,000 submitted by job candidates last year through Glassdoor.com, an online career community. (Note: To read 10 more oddball questions and the suggested answers to all, go to...
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Responding to requests from former employees who have been laid off requires some finesse -- and knowledge of the law -- by HR professionals. While there's no requirement to rehire, offer transfers or accommodate other requests from laid-off workers, HR should tread carefully to reduce the risk of liability.
Question: An employee, laid off from his position in the installations department, offered to work in the company's repairs department, but the company declined to move him because that was not his area of expertise, although he did work in that department for about six months while employed by the company.
Is there any liability for the company when we hire others to fill that position?
For some employees, saying "yes" or "no" to a relocation assignment can hinge on whether Mom or Dad can come too, and be cared for properly in unfamiliar territory. With more baby boomers facing such choices now, employers are looking for ways to help them with these complicated arrangements.
Managing director for ADP in China. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Amer Akhtar certainly thought so. When faced with the chance to change positions at the business-solutions giant starting in April 2009, he thought about how exciting it would be to move from Atlanta to China and help develop the company in one of the
world's fastest growing markets. [...The new job would take him to Shanghai for three years, but Akhtar thought it might be too expensive to relocate, since he not only needed to move with his wife and three children, but they'd need to take someone else along as well: his 79-year-old mother-in-law, Hilda... What ADP faced in
Akhtar's case is an issue more and more companies could be facing in the near future -- whether or not to extend all their relocation benefits to...]
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[401K] sea change Helping your employees benefit the most from their 401(k) plans is not easy but it can be done!
Companies now play a much more active role in guiding employees' 401(k) investment decisions.
One year ago, 401(k) plans were in crisis: account balances had plunged by double digits, employers were suspending matching contributions, and the volatility of the Dow made it uncertain as to whether the bottom had been reached. The situation improved markedly in 2009. Fidelity Investments reports that participants in
the millions of 401(k) accounts it administers enjoyed a 28% pop in 2009, a rate that beats the S&P 500 by 2%. (On the downside, the positive performance of 2009 simply put balances back at 2007 levels.) But while plan participants managed to make up some lost ground last year, that bit of good news
obscures a darker truth:...
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For the first time, employers will be subjected to taxes if they do not offer coverage to employees or if the coverage fails an affordability test.
The landmark overhaul of the U.S. health care delivery and financing system moved closer to final enactment when the House of Representatives on Sunday, March 21, approved both a reform bill earlier cleared by the Senate and a second bill that would make numerous changes to the other bill. On Tuesday, March 23,
President Barack Obama signed the first measure. The legislation will result in as many as 32 million U.S. residents gaining coverage, chiefly through expanding Medicaid for the low-income uninsured and extending federally subsidized health insurance premiums to uninsured individuals with incomes up to 400 percent
of the federal poverty level. For the first time, employers will be subjected to taxes if they do not offer coverage to employees or if the coverage fails an affordability test. In some cases within a few months, employers will have to change the design of their plans to comply with a wide range of new requirements,...
[To help employers keep up with the latest developments, Workforce Management sister publication Business Insurance provides answers to frequently asked questions about the issues...]
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Employers must implement social networking policies, obtain employee consent for monitoring and conduct their monitoring legally and responsibly.
By following these 10 guidelines, employers ensure that their employees can enjoy social media without employer static and interference...
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Bad credit derails job seekers Don't lose a job because of bad credit. Know what your credit report says, and be prepared to answer questions about it before surprises are discovered!
After three rounds of interviews for a sales position with Prudential Insurance Co. of America, Patricia Rosa received a letter in February saying her job application was denied based on information from a background check she authorized the company to conduct. The only blemish on her record, she says: Poor credit that
built up since she lost her job two years ago.
Unemployed and in debt, Ms. Rosa is among a growing number of job hunters who find their financial past interfering with their professional futures. Concerned about rising rates of employee theft and fiduciary issues, more employers are conducting credit background checks on applicants for some positions.
Companies say the financial information can offer insight into a candidate's level of responsibility. But people whose previously solid credit has been damaged by the economic downturn say they are victims of circumstances beyond their control...
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How companies like Gentle Giant use odd hiring practices to induct new recruits. Fourteen men and one woman are snaking up and down the steep tiers of Harvard Stadium. They started in a tight pack but have spread out, the natural athletes bounding ahead, the rest trotting resolutely behind. Their boss, Larry O'Toole, jogs along toward the rear, his back straight, his long legs scissoring. At 59,
O'Toole is almost three times the age of some of the runners. At the top of the final section, after racing up and down more than 1,000 steps, he rests, bent at the waist, his hands splayed across his knees. Around him, people are clapping. "All right, man!" someone cheers. "Nice, Larry. Nice." The stadium run is an initiation
rite at Gentle Giant, a $25 million moving company based in Somerville, Massachusetts. The practice began informally in the 1980s, when O'Toole hired members of college rowing teams, who liked to work out on the stadium stairs. In the early '90s, O'Toole institutionalized the run as a way to test the mettle of new hires
and emphasize that he expects them to push themselves. Most movers complete the trial within their first few weeks on the job. Office workers are encouraged to try as well, and about a quarter of them do. Afterward, they recharge with scrambled eggs and sausage while O'Toole delivers an orientation speech. "A lot
of people who come here have heard about the stadium, and it tells them this is the kind of place they're looking for,"...
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