Group health plan costs will nearly double the increase businesses experienced in 2017, according to surveys conducted by varied business advocacy groups. Plan costs are expected to rise 4.3 percent, even after plan changes and other measures to reduce costs....
Even with record numbers of employers winning Family Medical Leave Act lawsuits, family-leave related issues remain complex and treacherous for most firms to navigate. The fact that Georgia has no state equivalent of the federal FMLA, and that firms of...
With Millennial workers (and many workers from other eras) increasingly adopting non-traditional body art (officially called body modifications), business owners are grappling with how to address this issue. Per a February 2016 Harris Poll, 47 percent of Millennials and 36...
Marathon has always counseled its clients that the best way to handle legal issues relating to employment-related activities is to work with a labor attorney. When HR professionals make judgment calls about, or engage in activities relating to, the legal...
In June of this year, President Trump withdrew two Department of Labor (DOL) “Guidance Letters,” one of which could potentially relax scrutiny as to whether a worker is an employee or a contractor. The guidance, issued during the Obama administration,...
One of the most common questions for employers determining compensable time is how to handle on-call situations. If an employee is on-call, is he or she eligible to be paid for the on-call time? The answer lies in the restrictions...
Last month, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases in several Midwest states, issued a judicial ruling that sexual orientation claims are actionable under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The ruling came in response to...
A non-compete agreement is the cornerstone of many employment contracts. Company owners want the reassurance that should an employee leave, he or she will not go to work for a competitor or use company information for another firm’s benefit. Many...
With the new Trump administration comes updated plans and approaches, and one issue currently up in the air is pregnancy leave. A few proposals under consideration could potentially impact small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Following is a rundown of the...
The Affordable Care Act (ACA; also known as Obamacare) requires all Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) to offer their employees health insurance. In general, employers qualify as ALEs if they have at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent (FTE) employees—a...