Articles by WorkWise Compliance team

April 3, 2015

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OSHA Updates Workplace Violence Guidelines

BLS

In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported more than 23,000 significant injuries due to assault at work. More than 70 percent of these assaults were in healthcare and social service settings. Health care and social service workers are almost four times as likely to be injured as a result of violence than the average private sector worker. To reduce the risk, the Occupational Safety...

April 2, 2015

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DOL Delays New SBC Template Until 2016 | WWC

Under pressure from business groups and others, the Department of Labor (DOL) has delayed until 2016 implementation of revised standards for the health insurance Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). When it released the proposed changes in late 2014, the DOL originally set implementation for the first open enrollment period occurring after Sept. 1, ...

April 2, 2015

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McDonald's to Raise Wages by 10 Percent at Corporate-Owned Locations

McDonald's Corp. will become the first fast-food chain to raise its minimum wage this summer when it ups compensation at its corporate-owned locations by at least a dollar more than the local minimum hourly rate. In all, the planned July 1 hike will average about 10 percent for the 90,000 affected workers, rising to about $9.90 per hour with the average wage expected to top $10 by the end of 2...

April 1, 2015

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HHS Helps Fund Ebola Drug's Development | WWC

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) have awarded approximately $12 million to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals of Durham, N.C., for the advanced development of a promising experimental drug for Ebola, including preparing for large-scale manufacturing of the drug and conducting related studies. The initial work...

March 31, 2015

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Same-Sex Spouse Definition for FMLA on Hold | WWC

We spoke too soon, as a U.S. district judge in Texas has placed a temporary hold on the new definition of spouse for FMLA purposes, contrary to our earlier report below. The hold arises from a lawsuit filed by attorneys general in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Nebraska, which argues that the new definition violates the Full Faith and Credit Statute in section two of the Defense of Marriage Ac...

March 31, 2015

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EBSA Releases Fact Sheet on Its ERISA Enforcement | WWC

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), part of the Department of Labor (DOL), in a just-released Fact Sheet says its enforcement activities in fiscal year 2014 restored $599.7 million to employee benefit plans, participants and beneficiaries. EBSA is tasked with watchdog duties for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In FY 2014, the agency said it closed 3,928 ...

March 31, 2015

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EEOC Task Force to Study Harassment in the Workplace | WWC

Jenny R. Yang, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced the membership of the EEOC Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. At a public meeting on the topic of Workplace Harassment held January, 2015, Yang announced the formation of the Select Task Force, which will examine the problem of workplace harassment in all of its forms and loo...

March 30, 2015

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DOL Extends Comment Period for Contractors' Sex Discrimination Rule

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a two-week extension of the comment period for its proposed rule governing the obligations of federal contractors and subcontractors not to discriminate on the basis of sex in their employment practices. The extension ensures that the public has time to comment on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's March 25, 2015, decision in Young v. United Parc...

March 27, 2015

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A Tale of Two Lawsuits

Former UPS driver Kathy Young, who accused that firm of pregnancy discrimination, will have her day in court again, but Ellen Pao, who accused her firm of gender discrimination and retaliation, is walking away empty-handed. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Young's lawsuit against UPS for refusing to grant her light duty while she was pregnant should proceed to trial after tw...

March 25, 2015

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Half of ACA Subsidy Recipients Owe Payback | WWC

Half of U.S. households eligible for a 2014 tax subsidy under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) probably owe a repayment to the government, while 45 percent probably should receive a refund, according to estimates from a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The analysis – which is a simulation based on historical patterns of income volatility among all households eligible for ACA premium ...

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

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Articles by WorkWise Compliance team