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An Iowa administrative law judge has blasted QC Mart convenience store owner William Ernst for operating a "firing contest."
October 12 -
The IRS recently issued Notice 2011‐72 and a Memorandum for All Field Examination Operations, which provide a road‐map for employers to avoid taxing employees on cell phone expenses. Following the de‐listing of cell phones as "listed property" from Code section 274(d) last year, there has continued to be some uncertainty on the proper tax treatment of employer‐provided cell phones (and reimbursements of cell phone costs). This guidance, summarized below, clarifies the proper tax treatment and
October 7 -
Historically, the retirement industry hasn't been required to publish all fees and expenses associated with 401(k) products. That's about to change.
October 1 -
An Arab-American who is a former employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers has filed suit against the firm, claiming he was terminated after he told an internal newsletter that he thought "there is room for improvement" in PwC's diversity practices.
October 1 -
Until recently, most legal practitioners considered Illinois law well established in the area of employee restrictive covenants, including non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Now, however, things could easily be described as a bit murky because recent decisions have called into question some basic principles of restrictive covenants. One Illinois appellate court, for example, has completely gone its own way, cavalierly jettisoning long-accepted jurisprudence. Another court has been at least willing to consider modifying well-known principles. So,
September 30 -
The Federal Reserve's ‘Operation Twist’ to bring down bond yields and stimulate the economy is likely to cause pain for the nation's largest pension funds, already struggling with funding shortfalls from the recent stock market decline.
September 26 -
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a new Accounting Standards Update aimed at improving employer disclosures for multiple-employer pension plans.
September 26 -
Investment advisor advocates are breathing easier after the Department of Labor announced Monday that it has pulled its current proposal on the definition of a fiduciary off the table. The agency will take up the issue in early 2012 and repropose a fiduciary definition after more industry input. For now, the move provides a reprieve for advisors who were worried that the current proposals would encumber firms with costly restrictions on how they deliver advice to…
September 20 -
On September 7, 2011, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law an act prohibiting discrimination based upon "genetic information." The new law becomes effective on January 1, 2012 and, in the context of employment discrimination, covers California employers who regularly employ five or more workers. California already prohibits discrimination in the context of employment, housing and the provision of business services when such discrimination is based upon certain "protected" characteristics, including race, sex, age, disability and
September 16 -
A little over a year ago, I wrote a column about my plans to jump on the dependent eligibility verification audit bandwagon, along with thousands of other employers eager to remove ineligible dependents from their health insurance plans to hedge against ever-rising health care costs.
September 15
