Digital information gathered through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, discussion boards and other online forums are reshaping work and the workplace, according to this week’s Feature from CCH News. Entities such as telecoms, credit card agencies, major retailers, airlines, e-commerce providers are currently engaged in data mining. Rohini Srihari, founder and CEO of Janya Inc., a text analysis/text mining firm, discusses the potential of data mining -- and the complicated concerns it raises.
News Digest
HEC Members Offered Free Sept. 20th Briefing on HMSA’s Payment Reform
HEC members can learn about a new care delivery model and payment structure from the Hawaii Medical Service Association tied to the recent national health care reform in rewarding quality outcomes and using technology to keep people healthier and costs down.
Read more Hawaii Business Looking for 2011 Best Places to Work
HEC members are encouraged to participate in the free Best Places to Work program presented by the University Health Alliance and featured in Hawaii Business. The program is dedicated to finding and recognizing the best employers in Hawaii, and for the first time invites participation of companies with 15 or more employees.
Read more Leading Worker to Believe She Was on FMLA Voids Non-Entitlement Argument, 8th Circuit Says
An employer “who makes an affirmative representation that an employee reasonably and detrimentally believed” was a grant of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act cannot later argue that the employee was not in fact entitled to that leave because she did not suffer a serious health condition, the Eighth Circuit rules. However, the Court also decides that the employee must first trigger FMLA protection by providing her employer with notice that she may need FMLA leave.
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Read more Non-Church Aid Group Gets Religion Exemption, Split Ninth Circuit Panel Rules
A faith-based humanitarian organization is exempt from Title VII’s prohibition against religious discrimination when it terminated employees based on their religious beliefs, a Ninth Circuit panel rules in a 2-1 decision.
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( Categories : Discrimination )
DHHS Has New Insurance Finder Web Tool for Small Businesses, Others
Health Care Costs to Increase 2-4 Percent Due to Reform, Consulting Firm Predicts
The increased frequency and duration of COBRA use is creating a significant strain on the program, leading to higher health plan costs for the unemployed, according to Aon Consulting. In addition, the firm predicts that the new health reform law will increase health care costs by 2 percent to 4 percent during the next three years.
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Read more EEO-1, 2010 VETS-100 & 100A Reports Due Sept. 30
Private employers with 100 or more employees, prime federal contractors and first tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and contracts of $50,000 or more, and financial institutions serving as a federal depository or an issuing and paying agent for U.S. Savings Bonds and Notes must file their EEO-1 Report by Sept. 30.
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( Categories : Recordkeeping )
Employer Should Not Be Penalized For Not Following Its Zero Tolerance Policy, 8th Circuit Rules
An employer who had a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual harassment and required managers to forward all complaints to Human Resources should not be automatically penalized for a manager’s failure to follow this policy in his attempt to remedy the problem, the Eighth Circuit decides.
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( Categories : Discrimination )
Majority of Big Employers Will Change Health Plans, Lose Grandfathered Status
A majority of large U.S. employers are moving forward with plans to make changes to their 2011 health care benefit programs and plan to lose their grandfathered status under the recent health reform legislation, according to the National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of large employers.
Read more Departing Employees More Likely to Take Company Data Than Office Supplies, Survey Shows
For companies concerned about protecting sensitive electronic data, a new survey reveals an alarming set of worker attitudes: employees openly admit they would take company data, including customer data and product plans, when leaving a job.
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Read more More Than 20 Million Names Have Multiple SSNs Says Risk Management Firm
More than 20 million Americans have multiple Social Security numbers associated with their name in commercial records, according to ID Analytics, Inc., a consumer risk management company. Rather than serving as a unique identifier, more than 40 million SSNs are associated with multiple people, the company says.
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Read more Business.Gov Has Hiring Advice for Small Businesses
Tips on hiring the right employee aimed at small businesses can be found on a new Business.Gov webpage, which also included links to a new employer’s guide to processing new hires and complying with various employment laws. Business.Gov is an official site of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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