Day: August 18, 2014

4 leadership lessons learned from ‘Dead Poets Society’

by Dan Oswald With the recent tragic death of comedian and actor Robin Williams, my family and I decided to watch one of his many great films over the weekend, Dead Poets Society. The movie is about a group of boys at a private prep school. It’s there that they meet Professor Keating, their new […]

Use Internet to Find Missing DC Participants, DOL Says in Revamped Guidance

The U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. 14 issued a new set of guidance for plan sponsors about tracking missing defined contribution retirement plan participants and distributing their assets. It takes into account vastly improved Internet search capabilities that have emerged in the decade since its last instructions about obligations to missing participants. Field Assistance […]

Is Your Total Rewards Package Making a Difference?

Barton, chief operating officer, Willis North America Human Capital Practice, made her suggestions at the recent SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition in Orlando. She offers the following chart to help you classify your various reward elements. Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Current Total Rewards Strategy Barton offers a 13-part review for your total rewards strategy. […]

What Can You Learn About Training from the World of Warcraft?

Professional gaming—that’s not an oxymoron—is gaining legitimacy in the United States. Even U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is on board. Just last year, a professional South Korean Starcraft player received a 5-year U.S. visa reserved for internationally recognized athletes in professional sports—only the second visa of its type to be awarded to a professional gamer. […]

Avoiding the 10 Most Costly Management Mistakes

“It’s a case of perception vs. reality. The plaintiff perceives he (she) was disciplined, retaliated against, and harassed.  The reality is different. He (she) was terminated for a legitimate, non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory reason by a professional, well-trained manager with supportive documentation.”

Verbal COBRA Notice Is Sufficient, Says Court in Ruling for Employer

In a decision that overlooked key COBRA guidance, a federal district court ruled that an employer/plan administrator fulfilled its notice obligation by verbally providing a notice of COBRA rights and accepting premium payments — which apparently the qualified beneficiary had to pay a few days after her employment termination. In dismissing a COBRA notice claim, […]

My Name Is Sam Sung; I Work for Apple

It may seem like a joke, but believe it or not Apple® hired a man named Sam Sung. It’s no secret that Apple and Samsung (the company) are bitter enemies; they’ve been fighting over copyrighted designs for the last 3 years.  But ironically, Sam Sung is the one getting the last laugh.