The one interview question that tells you (almost) everything about an applicant

By Christian Schappel

Looking for that next great interview question to help you nail down the perfect candidate? There’s one in particular you should consider adding to your arsenal. 

At least that’s the opinion of best-selling author and renowned columnist Paul B. Brown, whose latest book, Own Your Future: How to Think Like an Entrepreneur and Thrive in an Unpredictable Economy, has just been published.

Brown has hired a person or two in his day, and he says this question has told him an awful lot about job candidates: “Tell me about your friends.”

(OK, it’s more like a directive than a question, but we digress.)
The reason Brown loves this question: “Good people hang out with other good people,” Brown wrote in his thrice-weekly column on Inc.com.

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Unraveling upcoming IRS rules on Obamacare

By Tim Gould

Next year promises to be a busy year for healthcare reform compliance — so the IRS has already begun issuing sample documents and rule changes for employers. Here’s what HR pros need to know.  

First, the IRS issued draft forms for employers — with insured and self-insured plans that are subject to the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate — which must be used to verify their compliance.

The filing for these forms is made on the basis of the calendar year — regardless of the type of year on which a firm administers its plan. The first due date for this form is early 2016 and that data will be based on the 2015 calendar year.

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NLRB thwarts another common employer practice

By Christian Schappel

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken a hacksaw to yet common employer rule – even when it’s unwritten.

As you may have noticed, the NLRB has been on the warpath to eliminate any employer practices or policies it deems as potentially detrimental to having an organized labor entity take root in a place of business.
Some practices and policies the NLRB has shot down recently, claiming they violate employees’ somewhat vague right under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to discuss the “terms and conditions” of their employment:

• prohibitions on discussing wages
• social media policies prohibiting employees from discussing work matters, and
• handbook policies prohibiting negative comments about fellow team members.

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Tip Tuesday! What to Include in an SBC

By Linda Rowings

A Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) must contain:

• Uniform definitions of standard insurance terms and medical terms (provided in the glossary)
• A description of the coverage for certain categories of benefits
• The exceptions, reductions, and limitations of the coverage
• The cost-sharing provisions of the coverage (deductible, coinsurance, and copayment obligations)
• A statement as to whether the plan offers minimum essential and minimum value coverage
• The renewability and continuation of coverage provisions
• Coverage examples
• A statement that the SBC is only a summary and that the plan document, policy, certificate, or contract of insurance should be consulted to determine the governing contractual provisions of the coverage

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Why hiring overqualified applicants could be your smartest move

By Tim Gould

Conventional wisdom says it’s stupid for companies to hire individuals who are overqualified for open positions — they’re just going to make a break for it when the job market improves. Conventional wisdom is wrong.  

At least that’s the opinion of Dr. John Sullivan, a California-based HR author and consultant. Writing on ere.net, Sullivan says that the assumption that hiring “overqualified” candidates will always result in frustrated employees and quick exits is badly off-target.

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EEOC Files Suit Over Wellness Program

By Linda Rowings

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued an employer because the penalty it applied for not participating in its wellness program was, in the eyes of the EEOC, so high that participation was not, as a practical matter, “voluntary.” Under EEOC rules, an employer may conduct medical examinations, which includes obtaining medical histories and blood draws, only in limited situations. One of those permitted situations is a voluntary wellness program. Because the program did not qualify as “voluntary,” the questions employees were asked about their health on a health risk assessment, a blood draw, and a range of motion assessment violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to the EEOC’s Complaint.

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Workers avoid retirement planning help: No. 1 reason why

By Jared Bilski

There are some very compelling reasons HR should let workers know there are plenty of places they can go for retirement-planning advice and assistance.

Reason: Nine in 10 retirement plan participants rely solely on themselves when it comes to retirement planning, according to a report from Schwab Retirement Plan Services.
And that can be very dangerous.

After all, many employees rely on their 401k as their main or only source of income in retirement. So if they’re only relying on their own instincts to get that retirement-plan balance where it needs to be, chances are they’re missing out.

More invested in picking a cell phone

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