In a critical follow-up to Kruchowski, et al. v. The Weyerhaeuser Company, a case we first brought to your attention in December, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has again expanded the scope of damages available to employees asserting certain discrimination claims against Oklahoma employers.

On February 18, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a long-awaited decision regarding the right of Oklahoma employers to ban firearms from their property.

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This new law includes provisions for a nine-month subsidy of COBRA premiums for employees who are involuntarily terminated. The law also imposes additional administrative and notice requirements on employers that require immediate attention.

Oklahoma’s immigration law, House Bill 1804, contains a number of employment provisions, including limitations on discharging employees while knowingly retaining unauthorized workers and requiring verification of employees’ legal work status. On February 11, Tulsa District Court Judge Jefferson D. Sellers ruled that the immigration law’s employment provisions don’t violate the Oklahoma Constitution.

When Wal-Mart decided to fire one of its managers for alleged misconduct, it probably thought it was an open-and-shut case. But as we all know, every termination carries risks. McAfee & Taft attorney Elizabeth Wood examines what this case can teach employers when dealing with an employee's firing.

PremierSource president Teah Corley was interviewed for an Oklahoman feature about how the recent Kennedy v. Dupont ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling could impact plan sponsors and administrators.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has delayed the effective date of the new Form I-9 for 60 days until April 3, 2009.  In December 2008, USCIS published an interim final rule intended to streamline the employment eligibility verification process in which an employer completes USCIS Form I-9 for each newly hired employee, or in some cases, for re-verifying the employment authorization of existing employees.

Paula Burkes, business writer for The Oklahoman, interviews PremierSource president Teah Corley about 401k retirement planning for NewsOK video program, Know It.

A recent Federal Appeals Court decision expands an employer's duty to designate an employee's absence as covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, LaRue v. DeWolff, Broberg & Associates Inc., makes it easier for individual participants in defined contribution plans, such as 401(k), to recover for losses to their individual accounts.

President Bush published an amendment to Executive Order 12989 that requires all employers who contract with the federal government to use an electronic employment eligibility system. That same day, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated E-Verify as the required verification system.

A federal court in Oklahoma City issued an order temporarily enjoining the State of Oklahoma from enforcing certain business-related sections of HB 1804, the immigration law passed by the Oklahoma Legislature in 2007.

More than 400 people attended the "Spring Training" Labor & Employment and Employee Benefits Seminar on Wednesday, May 21st, at the Cox Business Services Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City, setting a new attendance record for the seminar.

The board of directors of PremierSource, an Oklahoma-based market leader in comprehensive employee benefits, risk management and business consulting, has named Teah Corley president.

This new law amends the Family and Medical Leave Act to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.”

Increasing numbers of employers are requesting personal documents to ensure that all the dependents in their health care plans are entitled to coverage.

With spiraling healthcare costs, many companies are looking for ways to save money on their healthcare plans. The answer may be to spend more money on healthcare.

Lowering drug co-pays for chronic disease patients increases use of important preventive medicines, rigorous study shows

From ending retiree health care to the rise of social networking technology, these are the stories that changed the workforce landscape this year.

At the start, 25 percent of participants weighed in at a healthy level while 46 percent were considered obese. Nine months later, the latter group comprises just 32 percent. But there's more than pounds dropping. Ticknor says the firm has saved more than $150,000 in health-care claims since adopting the $12,000-a-year program.

Implementation of final rule ensures age bias law is no barrier to employer insurance

Once a tradition of the holiday season, the annual holiday bonus continues to lose credibility as an effective way to reward employees. According to a new survey, 63 percent of companies will not award holiday bonuses this year.

According to Blue Cross, its customers can save an average $187 a year through a healthy lifestyle program, such as losing weight, increasing exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables.

EEOC issues fact sheet on employment tests and selection procedures to screen applicants and workers.

A new Charles Schwab examination of the 401(k) plans it oversees found that investors who rely on some professional advice for investment decisions enjoy greater returns than those who go it alone.

Employers must begin using the 2007 edition of the I-9 form immediately because all previous versions of the form are no longer valid.

NEW 401(k) regulations that take effect next month will sharply alter the rules of the game — at least for some employees.

Tangerine, based in Boston, designs weight-loss programs that employ economic incentives. The company is modeled on recent economic research showing that paying people to lose weight causes their pounds to fall off faster.

To help employers improve the health of children, adolescents, and women of childbearing age, as well as potentially reduce health care costs, the National Business Group on Health recently unveiled a comprehensive publication for employers.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) is now available for use.

Cost-of-living and statute adjustments for 2008 health and fringe benefit plan limitations have been finalized by the IRS.

To make defined benefit plans more viable, we need to minimize the risks that are scaring off sponsors but retain the benefits that make these plans so valuable.

Taking ineligible dependents off insurance rolls can save millions and eliminate ERISA and SarbOx liability.

With 2008 just around the corner, employers nationwide are preparing for annual enrollment — a process that allows employees to enroll or change their enrollment status in their employers' healthcare and financial protection plans.

Cardiologist/author suggests that implementing a weight management program in the workplace can have a significant and nearly immediate impact on productivity, health care costs and absenteeism.

As New York State comptroller, his father “saved the retirements” of countless workers, Arthur Levitt Jr. said in a speech yesterday — but he added that now those pensions, along with those of millions of other Americans, are again at risk.

In a wake-up call to employers who haven't yet familiarized themselves with the legal requirements concerning discrimination complaints, a federal jury in San Francisco has awarded $5.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the plaintiff in a retaliation case.

When employers self-insure, they usually look to hundreds of available external administrative firms to manage claims and managed-care services. However, there is little oversight on these companies from public regulators or private compliance specialists.

Gossip in the workplace ranked as the number one pet peeve among employees, followed by other person’s poor time management skills and messiness in communal spaces, a recent survey by Randstad USA found.

Instead of simply urging workers to exercise and engage in other health-promoting activities, companies are focusing on specific benchmarks for weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol, for example, that they expect employees to meet to get the lowest-priced healthcare coverage.

A survey by Mercer and Marsh said "substantial" financial opportunities can be gained through a healthier workforce.

The Department of Labor issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2007-03 providing guidance on the deadline for furnishing benefit statements by defined contribution plans that do not permit participants to direct the investment of their accounts.

A Tulsa federal judge has ruled against the state in its attempt to make sure employees can take guns onto their employers' property.