Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

April 20, 2016

40 view(s)

UnitedHealth Makes It Official: Obamacare Withdrawal Underway

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's largest health insurance firm, has announced it plans to withdraw from all but "a handful" of Obamacare states in 2017 as it faces losses from the program rising to $650 million this year. UnitedHealth currently insures 795,000 Obamacare enrollees in 34 states, but CEO Stephen J. Hemsley says "the shorter-term, higher-risk profile" of most of these enrolle...

April 19, 2016

42 view(s)

OSHA Publishes Final Rule on Retaliation Complaints under Food Safety Modernization Act

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published a final rule establishing procedures for handling retaliation complaints under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The final rule also explains the burdens of proof, remedies and statute of limitations similar to other whistleblower protection statutes that OSHA administers. Section 402 of the FSMA, signed into law Janua...

April 18, 2016

28 view(s)

OSHA Fines to Rise by August 1

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is not the only federal agency that is authorized to "catch up" on inflation by increasing its fines on Aug. 1, but it's the one agency that's been the most vocal over the years, with administrator David Michaels doing the cheerleading for higher penalty levels. This past November President Obama signed into law the Federal Civil Penalti...

April 15, 2016

32 view(s)

UnitedHealth Bailing on Third Obamacare State

This time it's a biggie: UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's largest health insurance firm, is pulling out of the Obamacare sweepstakes in Michigan, the largest state so far that it's bailed from in the face of $500 million in yearly losses from the national program. Earlier, the company had withdrawn from Arkansas and Georgia amid threats that it might withdraw from the entire Affordable Ca...

April 15, 2016

38 view(s)

USCIS Launches E-Verify Usage Web Page

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has created a T As of March 31, when the latest statistics were compiled, Georgia led all states in the number of firms signing memoranda of understanding (MOU) with USCIS to use the free E-Verify system. The Peach State was followed by Arizona and California.

April 14, 2016

42 view(s)

AGs Go After Firms with 'On-Call' Worker Policies

Attorneys-general from eight states, including California, have collaborated in an effort to rein in on-call worker policies that leave employees dangling and unable to do anything while waiting for a call to work that might never come. On-call policies demand that employees remain free to be summonsed to work if needed. The AGs sent a letter to 15 companies asking for details on their on-cal...

April 12, 2016

36 view(s)

2015 Safest Year in Mining History, MSHA Says

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has released preliminary data for calendar year 2015, updating the “Mine Safety and Health at a Glance” page. The charts include information on inspections, violations and number of mines and miners. They also show fatality and injury rates for coal, metal and nonmetal and all mining. The data show that last year was the safest year in mining hi...

April 12, 2016

40 view(s)

California Ups the Ante on Paid Family Leave

Just a week after San Francisco went all out by guaranteeing 100 percent pay for employees who take family leave for the birth of a child, the state of California is raising its contribution to the program beginning in 2018. When it kicks in, those earning close to the minimum wage will receive 70 percent of their pay for six weeks of leave for childbirth or caring for a family member, while h...

April 7, 2016

29 view(s)

Much-Anticipated Fiduciary Rule Unveiled by DOL

For many in the financial services industry, dread became reality yesterday when the Department of Labor (DOL) introduced its much-discussed, much-anticipated fiduciary rule for agents who market retirement plans, setting the standard of service at "best interest" of the client rather than "suitable" for the client. The rule makes all retirement investment advisers into fiduciaries, meaning th...

April 6, 2016

44 view(s)

Former Massey CEO Sentenced to Prison for Mine Safety Violation

Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws, becoming the first American executive to be imprisoned for breaking the nation's safety laws. The sentence, meted out by U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger, includes a $250,000 fine and comes six years and one day after Massey's Upper Big Branch coal mine...

161 of 329

Options

Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

DOJ Challenges EEOC's Stance on Disparate Impact Claims

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued a legal opinion that may signal major changes ahead in federal workplace discrimination enforcement. In a June 9, 2026 memorandum, the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) expressed the opinion that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's...

Department of Labor Issues 2026 Civil Penalty Update: No Adjustments This Year

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published its annual update announcement regarding federal civil monetary penalties under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. In a notice published in the Federal Register on May 27th, 2026, the DOL announced that no penalty increases...

U.S. Department of Labor Issues New Opinion Letters on Overtime Exemptions, Bonuses, and Compensable Time

On May 29th, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released several new opinion letters addressing key wage & hour issues. Specifically, one of the four documents informed readers whether an exempt employee could perform additional work in a secondary role at an hourly rate and still be eligible...

EEOC Issues New National Enforcement Plan Through 2029

On June 4th, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan (NEP). The NEP sets the EEOC’s specific subject-matter priorities from June through fiscal year 2029.

U.S. Department of Labor Officially Restores Prior Overtime Exemption Rules

On May 14th, 2026, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has officially rescinded the 2024 overtime exemption rules. Specifically, the WHD published a technical amendment to restore previous 2019 regulations that dictated overtime exemptions for...

View All Articles