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| The 2008 National Study of
Employers, released by the Families and Work Institute, finds that 38 percent of U.S. firms allow a
compressed workweek for some employees, which can improve morale and company loyalty for those who
like the schedule. |
| (Source: Christian Science Monitor,
2008-07-28) |
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| While it's still pretty much
the norm for American workers to mold their lives around their bosses' schedules, many
small-business owners are giving employees flexible work hours, allowing them to take part in
outside activities such as grad school, charitable work or second jobs. Company owners who give
their workers such leeway say they're not just being considerate, they're doing something that makes
good business sense. |
| (Source: Miami Herald (free reg. req'd),
2008-07-28) |
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| There are wrong ways to
dismiss an employee, but is there really a right way to do it? It is a particularly relevant
question in an economy like this one, where the news is filled with people losing their jobs. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd),
2008-07-24) |
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| Immigration has turned many
businesses into activists across the country and it has stirred strong passions in the United States
in this election year. In the first half of 2008, legislatures in 39 states passed at least 175
immigration related laws, many seeking to clamp down on 12 million illegal immigrants living and
working in the shadows. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2008-07-25) |
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| Employment and family law
attorneys say a growing number of men are filing a wide variety of workplace lawsuits, suing over
everything from more leave time to care for their children to sexual harassment. The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission notes that in 2007 it saw a record number of sexual harassment
complaints filed by men. Men accounted for a record 16 percent of all sexual harassment complaints,
nearly double the nine percent figure in the early 1990s. |
| (Source: law.com, 2008-07-28) |
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| A Mississippi law is the most
extreme step that's been taken by proponents of tougher controls against illegal immigrants. Though
these crackdowns by state and federal authorities are having their intended effect, worker advocates
claim innocent workers also are being swept up in the ensuing response from employers. |
| (Source: BusinessWeek, 2008-07-28) |
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| The value of pension plans for
S&P 500 companies has plunged by $170 billion thus far this year, reducing a $60 billion surplus
from 2007 to $110 billion deficit, according to research by Credit Suisse. |
| (Source: CFO.com, 2008-07-24) |
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| About half of employers with
defined-benefit pension plans have frozen one or more of those plans, putting the retirement incomes
of millions at risk, according to a government report. The Government Accountability Office said
more than three million people covered by its study, which represented about a fifth of all
participants in single-employer defined-benefit plans, are affected by freezes. |
| (Source: The Kansas City Star (free reg. req'd),
2008-07-22) |
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| Tough economic times and the
perpetual threat of layoffs are gnawing away at our collective funny bone. That on top of years of
ballooning political correctness in workplaces have clamped down on laughter. And that's bad news
for productivity, creativity and the general well-being of workers, say HR and humor experts. |
| (Source: MSNBC, 2008-07-28) |
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| Tami
Earnhart |
Claims of religious discrimination have increased in the past few years. The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports a 23% increase in charges alleging religious
discrimination between 2005 and 2007. The EEOC also reports obtaining $6.4 million for
individuals filing charges of religious discrimination in 2007. In addition, many employers have
seen an increase in religious diversity in their workplaces and in requests for religious
accommodations.
On July 22, 2008, in response to this apparent increase in religious issues in the workplace,
the EEOC issued a new section to its Compliance Manual for EEOC investigators on religious
discrimination, along with a question and answer document and "Best Practices for Employers."
Read the article about the EEOC
compliance updates on religious discrimination.
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| Mark Ford |
This month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin)
handed down a potentially far-reaching decision for employers to strongly consider. Bottom
line: what you don't say in your employee handbook can and will be used against you.
In Peters v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., our Seventh Circuit determined that FMLA eligibility
language in an employee handbook may be sufficient to create an enforceable contract under Indiana
law.
Read the entire article on employee
handbooks.
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Control Your Medical
Costs!
Employers and their insurers are fortunate to have the choice of physician in the State of
Indiana. If you are working with an occupational physician to control medical costs, keep this
in mind. The cost of a course of treatment results from the price of the
treatment and how much it is utilized.
Cost = Price x Utilization
For example, if a drug costs 10¢ per pill (price), and the doctor prescribes 500 of them
(utilization) the cost of that treatment is $50.
If you are using the cheapest physical therapy facility in town, but it takes twice as many
visits to get results, you may not be saving any money. Work with your physicians to control
both the price and the utilization of treatments.
Please contact Kathleen Shortridge or Ann
Stewart if you have questions on this topic or any other worker's comp issue.
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