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| Employers sometimes frown on
outward displays of religion even as some employees demand their right to express themselves. The
laws aren't always clearly defined, but wearing your religion on your sleeve in a largely secular
American workplace could hinder your career. |
| (Source: MSNBC, 2009-12-20) |
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| The Supreme Court will decide
whether employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy for the text messages they send on
devices owned by their employers. The case the court accepted involves public employees, but a
broadly written decision could hold a blueprint for private-workplace rules in a world in which
communication via computers, e-mail and text messages plays a very large role. |
| (Source: The Washington Post (free reg. req'd),
2009-12-15) |
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| While fully predicting the
consequences of health care legislation not yet enacted is impossible, two preliminary estimates
created by the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation show that increasing coverage is not the best
measure -- at least in employers' eyes -- of the success of health care reform. Rather than reduce
overall health care costs, employers say the reform bills increase coverage by limiting the freedom
of employers to provide health benefits as they see fit. |
| (Source: Workforce Management,
2009-12-21) |
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| The nation's top employment
cops are looking forward to an extra $23 million to help tackle a growing problem: backlogged cases
at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The 2010 omnibus appropriations bill, passed by
the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 10 and by the Senate on Dec. 13, would funnel those
additional millions to the EEOC to help the agency get a handle on more than 70,000 unresolved
discrimination complaints. |
| (Source: law.com, 2009-12-15) |
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| U.S. immigration officials are
taking H-1B enforcement from the desk to the field with a plan to conduct 25,000 on-site inspections
of companies hiring foreign workers during the government's current fiscal year. That would mark a
nearly fivefold increase in inspections over the previous year, when U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services officials conducted 5,191 site visits. |
| (Source: Computerworld, 2009-12-21) |
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| A health-care subsidy that
lowers insurance premiums by 65 percent for some unemployed U.S. workers was extended for six months
under legislation approved in the House. The House passed a defense bill with an amendment
increasing the period for the 65 percent subsidy from nine to 15 months and extends eligibility for
those who lose their jobs through Feb. 28. |
| (Source: Bloomberg, 2009-12-16) |
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| Across the nation, the
long-simmering problem of employers who don't pay their workers appears to be getting worse,
especially for immigrant laborers. In the absence of aggressive federal action, some states and
local governments have begun to tackle the issue on their own. |
| (Source: BusinessWeek, 2009-12-17) |
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| More employees are using their
own laptop computers at work, a trend that employers should approach with considerable caution,
observers warn. Concerns about establishing boundaries between personal and company information,
protecting company networks against viruses and malware that may infect workers' computers, and
retrieving vital company data when the employee leaves the firm are just a few issues with which
employers must contend, observers say. |
| (Source: Business Insurance,
2009-12-14) |
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| The height of the recession
saw slashes of 401(k) matches, merit-based raises and bonuses by businesses of all sizes in bids to
conserve cash, but nearly two-thirds of firms that froze salaries last year will begin to offer
raises again, according to a new report from human resources consultancy Towers Perrin. And a third
of those that sliced 401(k) matches plan to increase or restart those company contributions next
year. |
| (Source: USA Today (free reg. req'd),
2009-12-11) |
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| More than 5,000 current and
former AT&T workers have filed two $1 billion class-action lawsuits accusing the telecommunications
company of withholding overtime pay from its so-called first-level managers in an attempt to defray
labor costs. The suits accuse the company of wrongfully classifying a certain group of BellSouth
Corp. employees as being unable to receive overtime pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards
Act. |
| (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (free reg. req'd), 2009-12-16) |
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| Workers are fueling a surge of
productivity in the U.S. economy, as employee output per hour jumped 8.1 percent in the third
quarter this year, the largest gain since the third quarter of 2003. But these bustling laborers are
also a big reason why companies won't be rushing to hire new staffers any time soon. |
| (Source: Los Angeles Times (free reg. req'd),
2009-12-20) |
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Another year is almost behind us, and 2010 waits just around the corner. For most, this is the
time to start looking to the year ahead and thinking about New Years' resolutions. The same holds
true for employers. Given the significant changes to federal labor and employment law that marked
2009, now is the perfect time for employers to take a fresh look at their policies and handbooks and
make any necessary updates to ensure compliance with applicable law in 2010.
Read more about the necessary
updates for 2010. |
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On Saturday morning,
December 19, 2009, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced amendments to his health care reform
bill. The almost 400 pages of amendments are the result of weeks of internal debate among Senate
Democrats designed to draft a bill which would garner the support of all 58 Democrats and the two
Senate Independents – the 60 votes necessary for a filibuster proof majority.
Read more information about the health care
reform bill amendments.
We have established a multi-disciplinary health care reform team that is reviewing each aspect of
the legislation and how it will impact employers, benefit plans, taxpayers, providers, and
individuals and entities interested in pursuing the many business opportunities that will result
from the legislation. Ice Miller's Health Law Group will post updates on the status of
health care reform as the debate continues. |
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Ice Miller invites you to
attend a free webinar on “Conducting an Effective Internal Investigation in the United
States,” sponsored and presented by the Employment Law Alliance (ELA) on Tuesday, January 12,
2010 from 3:00-4:30 p.m. EST. Issues discussed will include: the standard of proof, assessing
credibility, interviewing witnesses, the right to remain silent, addressing concerns about
retaliation and confidentiality, and sorting relevant from irrelevant evidence. For more
information and to register for this session, please visit: www.employmentlawalliance.com and click the link (on
the right side of your computer screen) in the box entitled “Employment Law
Webinars.” |
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Ice Miller's Labor and
Employment Practice is proud to partner with Lorman Education Services and present to you a seminar
on "Administering the Family and Medical Leave Act Under the Current Regulations." The seminar
will take place at the Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel on March 5, 2010. This event will be
a great opportunity to network with other professionals in your area. You can receive $50 off the
registration fee by using the priority code 15000 and discount code Z7745121. Click
here to view the event details and to register, or call 1-866-352-9539. |
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BlackBerry® thumb?
A cautious evaluation is important with any claimed repetitive trauma disorder. Consider the
problem of the thumb injuries. A lot of thumb pain is caused, not by any acute injury, but by
arthritis. For some reason, middle aged women in particular are susceptible to the development of
carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis, or arthritis in the joint at the base of the thumb.
Increasingly, however, young people are complaining of thumb problems, which can be traced back to
using the thumb in a repetitive and abnormal movement due to messaging on a personal data system. If
employees bring a work injury claim because of complaints of this sort, it is important to make sure
that the problem was, indeed, related to work. Further, as a proactive measure, you should make sure
that your employees are using their personal digital assistant (PDA) for messaging only when it is
actually necessary and, if they are at work and have the option of using a computer or some other
communication device, that should be encouraged. Many people use their PDAs for personal
entertainment and communication much more than for employment purposes, and you do not want to be
accepting a work injury claim which is attributable to those personal communications.
If you have questions about a claim or any of your other worker's compensation questions, please
contact Ann Stewart.
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