Vigilant Blog

Employees with defined-contribution pension plans such as 401(k)s are entitled to significant new disclosures of the fees and expenses charged to their accounts, under a new federal regulation. The following disclosures are required before an employee can first direct an investment, and then annually thereafter: . This includes how the plan works, any…

Good news on the tax front: Employers no longer are required to follow strict documentation requirements to verify the business use of employer-provided mobile phones, under a federal law signed by President Obama on September 27, 2010. Also, if an employer provides a mobile phone for business use, the fair market value of an employees…

close down due to a bed bug infestation, there was a collective shudder across America. Its hard to believe, but bed bugs are resurging in this country. In case youve never heard of the little critters, bed bugs are small parasites that bite humans and feed on their blood, while making their homes in upholstered…

The U.S Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Dollar Tree Stores wasnt a successor in interest under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it took over a lease from Factory 2-U, which had gone bankrupt. Although both companies were discount retailers, Dollar Tree Stores inventory was different, it remodeled the interior…

Employees of a public relations firm who posted glowing reviews of online video games should have disclosed the fact that the firm had been hired by the video game developers, guidelines last year governing online endorsements. If your employees are posting online ratings of a product or service that relates to your business…

The Board ruled in the employees favor for a number of reasons. The company distributed the warnings publicly, to the whole crew, so it was unreasonable for the company to complain that the employees challenged the superintendent publicly. The subject of the employees protest was the enforcement of working conditions that the employees felt were…

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Although it seems obvious, a recent U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case took twenty pages to come to the conclusion that men can be sexually harassed just the same as women. Shortly after an airport employee’s wife passed away, his female co-worker began hitting on him. After he told her no thank you, her…

study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that the rate of hearing loss for children between the ages of 12 and 19 jumped from 14.9 percent in 1994 to 19.5 percent in 2006. Thats a 30 percent increase (August 18, 2010). struck by a train as he came too close…

Tips: The Ninth Circuit was very clear that the duty to accommodate a disability extends to commute-related limitations. Be prepared to discuss accommodation options if an employee gives a medical reason for being unable to work your desired schedule. You need not select the employees preferred accommodation as long as you choose one that…

CPL 02-00-149). If OSHA or your state safety and health agency issues a citation at your facility, contact your Vigilant safety professional immediately, and pay attention to the deadline for appealing the citation. The notice will warn you if the citation has been designated as a severe violator enforcement case. Each citation is of…

H.R. 4173, signed July 21, 2010). Among other things, the new law: Allows individuals who provide original information to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that results in monetary sanctions against publicly traded employers, to claim between 10 and 30 percent of any sanction over $1 million (Section 922). Clarifies that employees of subsidiaries…