The big news last fall from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was that  for the first year in history, retaliation claims had surpassed race discrimination claims as the most filed complaint in 2010. But the sleeper issue employers could be grappling with very soon is a significant increase in age discrimination claims.
Recently the EEOC [...]

by Stephen Stine
We aren’t getting any younger, and neither are your employees. As a result, employers are increasingly having to confront age-related issues that may lead to legal liability. These issues arise not only in the context of hiring and firing decisions but also in the design of benefit plans. To ensure your benefit plans [...]

Reading about sports superstars can provide HR professionals with valuable insight into the motivation and behavior of the employees you work with every day.

(Updated Dec. 4, 2009)
by Douglas R. Chamberlain
When facing financial difficulties, employees often look to their retirement plans as a possible source of needed funds. Many plans offer participant loans or permanent withdrawals, the latter generally on a hardship basis. However, plan loans and withdrawals can jeopardize the employee’s retirement benefits, and [...]

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is back in the news as the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether AT&T violated the Act by paying reduced pension benefits based on uncredited pregnancy leave taken before enactment of the PDA in 1978. That upcoming decision may influence whether companies have to change their [...]

by Susan Hartmus Hiser
Q: Our company is downsizing its operations, and we would like to offer an incentive package to certain employees as an inducement to leave voluntarily. If we do, can we obtain a release of all claims from the employees who accept the incentive package?

by Mark Schickman
Look around your workplace, and you will see baby boomers who are rethinking their retirement plans. They have had their anniversary date in 2010 circled on their calendars for a decade, they have bought their retirement condo, and they have calculated the rate of investment return that allows their retirement fund to [...]

by Boyd A. Byers
Forty is a mystical number in many cultures. In ancient Babylonia, the number was known as kissatuin, meaning “the excellent quantity.” The great flood described in the Bible resulted from 40 days and 40 nights of rain. Forty is the only number, when spelled out in English, whose [...]