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December, 2003

New health savings accounts — government issues guidance, sparking interest and discussion

Written on 31 Dec, 2003 at 18:01

When the new Medicare bill was first passed, very little was said about its health savings account provision, which essentially had nothing to do with the senior prescription drug coverage, but was an add-on to the bill for political reasons.... (Continue reading)

Weird college campus affirmative-action story

Written on 30 Dec, 2003 at 19:43

Findlaw (AP — Melanthia Mitchell) reports: “College Bake Sales Spark Conflict.” Campus bake sales by conservatives who oppose affirmative-action are cooking up discord – and complaints about restrictions on free speech. Organizers charge white students $1 for a cookie, while... (Continue reading)

Mixed outlook on pension funding

Written on 30 Dec, 2003 at 19:24

Compare this from Reuters — “Pension Gap Widens Despite Rising Stocks” with this from the Boston Globe — “As stock market rallies, pension deficits at major US corporations begin to ease.” Apparently market returns have helped reduce underfunding of some... (Continue reading)

Reasonable dress code — 3 earrings per lobe max?

Written on 30 Dec, 2003 at 19:09

Findlaw (AP)reports: “Fla. Workers Allowed 3 Earrings Per Lobe.” Adding that seventh earring before going to work for the county could get you into piercing trouble. Administrators have decided that three earrings per earlobe is the maximum amount of “facial... (Continue reading)

Help-wanted ads show positive employment trend

Written on 30 Dec, 2003 at 10:43

CNN/Money (Reuters) reports: “Help-wanted ads show modest gain in November” Help-wanted ads in U.S. newspapers rose in November, suggesting the nation’s employment situation is improving modestly but steadily, a report showed Monday. The Conference Board said its employment barometer climbed... (Continue reading)

Paternity leave on the rise?

Written on 30 Dec, 2003 at 10:32

Julie Shields writes for Workforce Management: “When Men Take Paternity Leave, True Equality Begins.” After describing her personal experience with maternity and paternity leave, the author opines: Equality between men and women will not occur until men start taking paternity... (Continue reading)

Transitional duty helps control workers comp costs

Written on 30 Dec, 2003 at 10:14

Garry Kranz reports in Workforce Management: “Transitional Duty Pays Off For Everyone; Companies find that giving workers modified duties beats a long stay on workers’ comp, even if it means having them take jobs at local nonprofits.” The article starts... (Continue reading)

Last week’s news on jobless claims

Written on 29 Dec, 2003 at 18:21

The day before Christmas, Reuters reported: “Jobless claims hold steady in latest week.” First-time applications for state unemployment insurance . . . fell a mere 1,000 to 353,000 in the week ended Dec. 20 from a revised 354,000 in the... (Continue reading)

Temp firms consolidating through mergers

Written on 29 Dec, 2003 at 18:17

Reuters (Anupama Chandrasekaran) reports: “Merger Pace Picks Up for Temp Firms.” Buoyed by an improving economy and their rising stock prices, the biggest U.S. staffing companies are back in the takeover game . . . . For the acquisitive, there’s... (Continue reading)

Comments on flexible spending debit cards

Written on 29 Dec, 2003 at 13:12

Catherine over at sonria.org has some comments based on my recent post on debit cards. She seems to have the type of insider’s HR knowledge of the nuts and bolts that I, as an ivory tower lawyer, sometimes sorely lack.... (Continue reading)

Back to work (and to blawg)

Written on 29 Dec, 2003 at 13:07

Apologies to regular readers for the week of silence. I spent time in Indiana with family and friends, returning Saturday. Unfortunately, last night my home computer went totally on the fritz. I will resume blogging tonight from work as time... (Continue reading)

Debit cards for employee-directed benefit spending

Written on 23 Dec, 2003 at 12:08

Workforce Management has this article by Rachael King on an interesting benefits trend: “Employers Give Workers Debit Cards to Access Benefit Dollars.” Diana Andersen wanted to eliminate the shoebox effect. Employees at Zions Bancorporation would collect their receipts for visits... (Continue reading)

Latest on Calif. grocery strike — talks collapse

Written on 21 Dec, 2003 at 17:26

Yahoo News (Reuters) reports: “Calif. Grocery Strike Talks Collapse.” Talks between supermarket chains and striking employees collapsed shortly after they resumed late Friday as store owners rejected labor’s first broad proposal to end a 10-week-old dispute that has idled 70,000... (Continue reading)

Survey on internet use at work

Written on 21 Dec, 2003 at 15:27

The following graphs from an Information Week survey, as reported by Parry Aftab may be of interest: The article says: While the statistics are enlightening, the comments given to us by respondents are even more enlightening. Several respondents commented that... (Continue reading)

Interesting studies on gender pay equity issues

Written on 20 Dec, 2003 at 22:46

Employment Policy Foundation (EPF) has this: “Women in the Workplace Make Large Gains over the Last Decade.” Highlights include: The real earnings of women in full-time, year round jobs increased 19.1 percent from 1991 to 2001, and the number of... (Continue reading)

Big healthcare mystery: what do particular procedures really cost?

Written on 20 Dec, 2003 at 19:59

See this AP article by Patrick Howe in the Washington Post: “Unknown Prices Hamper Health Care.” Almost nobody, from the doctor to the patient, knows what a given procedure really costs. And that’s a real problem for would-be reformers who... (Continue reading)

Medicare precription coverage law also includes exciting new health savings account for more consumer-driven healthcare options

Written on 20 Dec, 2003 at 19:34

See this article in BNA Tax Management Insights & Commentary: “Health Savings Accounts: Medicare Reform Reshapes the Landscape for Active Employee Health Coverage.” It’s well worth reading in full. Highlights include: List of attractive features of the new Health Savings... (Continue reading)

Lawyers complain about too many cases being settled

Written on 20 Dec, 2003 at 19:02

ABA Journal e-report has this by Stephanie Francis Ward: “VANISHING TRIALS’ ISSUE WON’T GO AWAY.” Case filings are up, and parties spend more money on pretrial work. Yet fewer actions actually go to trial–and all of this is troubling many... (Continue reading)

Latest jobs, economic data good

Written on 19 Dec, 2003 at 16:03

Reuters reports: “Jobless Down, Some Manufacturing Soars.” Good news on the U.S. economy piled up on Thursday with a quartet of reports showing a fall in claims for jobless benefits and a surprise surge in regional manufacturing that bodes well... (Continue reading)

Business Week is bullish on the job market

Written on 19 Dec, 2003 at 15:51

Business Week online has this good economic analysis: “U.S.: The Job Market Is Stronger Than It Looks.” Read this excellent story in full. One of the most fascinating parts to me is the divergence between the employment statistics resulting from... (Continue reading)

law.com – Article

Written on 19 Dec, 2003 at 15:45

Law.com has this by Richmond Eustis from the Fulton County Daily Report: “Day Trader Firms Ruled Not Liable for Rampage.” The day trading firms where Mark O. Barton worked before embarking on a shooting rampage are not liable for the... (Continue reading)

EEOC announces recruiting and hiring settlement

Written on 19 Dec, 2003 at 15:31

In a case involving Palm Management Corporation, operator of The Palm Restaurants, EEOC has announced a pre-litigation agreement ending a nationwide investigation focusing on past recruitment and hiring practices, specifically, allegations that The Palm discriminatorily failed to recruit and hire... (Continue reading)

Good analysis of causes of healthcare cost increases

Written on 19 Dec, 2003 at 15:17

David R. Francis writes in the Christian Science Monitor:“Healthcare costs are up. Here are the culprits.” It is no secret to Americans that healthcare costs are soaring. But some of the causes of this escalation are startling. For example: •... (Continue reading)

News on jobs statistics in tech sector

Written on 18 Dec, 2003 at 10:23

CNN reports: “Tech firms recovering, government says.” The U.S. technology industry is showing healthy growth for the first time since parts of the Internet sector collapsed two years ago, but jobs and wages still are down, the Bush administration says... (Continue reading)

Laid-off execs increasingly become own bosses

Written on 18 Dec, 2003 at 10:09

A small “sidebar” piece in Newsweek by Jonathan Adams entitled “How the elite are dealing with jobless recovery; The Company of One (December 22 edition on page E-4) cites some interesting statistics from the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas:... (Continue reading)