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| It takes a lot to scare workers into making sudden changes to their 401(k) plans, yet droves of participants moved their retirement assets around as the volatile equity markets became too much for many to stomach. Participants in 401(k) plans fled from equity funds and moved investments into safer fixed-income investments as manic market conditions and an uncertain economy rattled many workers, said Pam Hess, director of retirement research at Hewitt Associates. |
| (Source: Financial Week, 2008-09-23) |
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| The business community is preparing for another battle over workplace ergonomics regulations. In 2001, business lobbyists convinced Congress to overturn an ergonomics regulation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the waning months of the Clinton administration, but come January, a new president will take office and Democrats may strengthen their control of the House and the Senate. |
| (Source: Washington Business Journal, 2008-09-22) |
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| Recruiters, hiring managers and corporate executives who still believe they operate in the relatively benign environment of the business place must have missed reports on the latest wave of workplace raids and arrests carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead, enforcement actions by ICE are growing more draconian by the day and now engulf whole industries. |
| (Source: Workforce Management, 2008-09-21) |
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| Millions of Americans with diseases or impairments such as diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, cancer and carpal tunnel syndrome will be protected from job discrimination under a new disability rights measure set to become law. The bill, five years in the making, won final passage in Congress, and President Bush said he would sign it. |
| (Source: Los Angeles Times (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-22) |
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| The fears of the millions of people who watched their 401(k) retirement plans rise and fall along with the stock market reflect a sweeping revolution in how Americans save for retirement. Whether it's disappearing work-based health care, the move from traditional pensions to 401(k)s, the push to privatize Social Security or just tougher policies on filing for personal bankruptcy, these and other social supports and safety nets that were designed to make Americans more secure have been watered down, abandoned or altered so that individuals bear a greater share of the risk and cost. |
| (Source: The Columbus Dispatch, 2008-09-19) |
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| The stratospheric pay packages of Wall Street executives have become a lightning rod issue as Congress shapes a $700 billion bailout for financial firms. Proposals circulating on Capitol Hill vary, but they all would impose some limits or approval authority on salaries of executives whose firms seek help. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-23) |
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| Across the country, particularly at larger companies, transgender workers are being protected and assisted in ways that were hardly imaginable a few years ago. Currently, 125 of the Fortune 500 companies include "gender identity" in their nondiscrimination policies, compared with "close to zero" in 2002, according to Jillian T. Weiss, an associate professor of law and society at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and an expert on transgender workplace diversity. |
| (Source: The (Lakeland, Fla.) Ledger (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-21) |
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| Created in 2004 as part of an effort to encourage consumers to control the amount they spend on health care, health savings accounts are administered by banks, credit unions, insurance companies and some stand-alone companies. They have jumped in popularity, with surveys showing the number of people enrolled in HSAs topping 6.1 million in 2008, from 438,000 in September 2004. |
| (Source: MSN Money, 2008-09-17) |
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| In lawsuits filed in the last three years, staff have accused dozens of New York restaurants, including many well-known ones, of stealing tips and cheating them out of wages. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2008-09-18) |
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| Pressure to settle cases means that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration collects less than half the fines it levies. But the real cost comes in worker health and safety. |
| (Source: Salon (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-16) |
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| The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a business improvement district, saying four of its public safety officers are being discriminated against because of their dreadlocks. The workers say they've been scolded for failing to keep uniform caps covering their dreadlocks, which conform with their Rastafarian beliefs. |
| (Source: Staten Island Advance, 2008-09-18) |
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| A Blue Bell communications company, which employs 5,000 technicians nationwide, is being sued because its major investor allegedly posed this question to a 55-year-old job candidate for the position of human resources director: "How old are you, 78?" Accusing Unitek USA L.L.C. of age discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the company in federal court in Philadelphia. |
| (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-23) |
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| Jenifer Brown |
Sarah Akber |
Christl Glier |
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently notified seven companies that it is considering debarring them from federal contracting because they have been found to be unlawfully employing unauthorized workers in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. While the federal regulations had previously authorized debarment for such violations, the former Immigration and Nationality Service (INS) had instead focused on civil fines. ICE officials have indicated that these are the first instances in which it is considering the debarment option as an increased enforcement measure that is part of ICE's new worksite enforcement strategy.
Read the entire article on the debarment provision. |
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Ice Miller will be hosting a webinar to discuss the ADA Amendments Act on Tuesday October 7, from noon - 1 p.m. (EDT).
Register online for this free ADA Amendments Act webinar. |
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What does it take to start, grow and sustain a business in Indiana? How important is foreign competition? What’s the state’s role in economic development and what initiatives offer the greatest growth opportunities? Ice Miller LLP, Butler University’s College of Business Administration and Inside INdiana Business have, once again, collaborated to develop, implement and conduct a survey of Indiana’s business executives.
Join a webinar Wednesday, October 1 to hear what Indiana CEOs think about the 2008 results and how they compare to last year. The panel will be moderated by Gerry Dick of Inside INdiana Business. Register for the webinar. |
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Safety Violations: Part II
It is very important that you post safety rules and otherwise provide training to your employees in proper use of safety devices. You should also have the employees sign off when you provide training. Additionally, it is vital that you enforce the safety rules consistently. If you have to go to a hearing, make sure the foreman has a list of employees who have been written up or otherwise disciplined for failure to abide by the safety rules.
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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