Employees looking for new jobs while at work: Most professionals feel confident testing the employment waters, even from their current office, research suggests. In a survey from global staffing firm Accountemps, 78% of workers said they would feel at least somewhat comfortable looking for a new job while with their present company. More than six in 10 respondents (64%) indicated they'd likely conduct search activities from work. The survey revealed that professionals ages 18 to 34 are the most open to conducting job search activities at work (72%), compared to those ages 35 to 54 (63%), and 55 and older (46%). In addition, the research showed men are more likely to conduct job search activities from the workplace (72%) than women (55%).  Source: Office Team 11/5/18

Small businesses have trouble filling jobs: A seasonally adjusted 16% of small business owners reported increasing employment an average of 3.3 workers per firm and 11% reported reducing employment an average of 2.9 workers per firm, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. Job creation remained solid in October for small businesses at a net addition of 0.15 workers per firm. 38% of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, equal to September’s record high. 60% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire with 88% of them reporting few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. When asked their ‘Single Most Important Business Problem,’ 23% of owners cited the difficulty of finding qualified workers in October. “The labor force is not growing quickly enough to satisfy the demand,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “The unemployment rate is expected to be lower which means that the increase in labor force participation will not be sufficient to meet new labor demands.”  Source: NFIB.com 11/1/18

Even large employers are having difficulty filling jobs:  Foxconn Technology Group is considering bringing in personnel from China to help staff a large facility under construction in southern Wisconsin as it struggles to find engineers and other workers in one of the tightest labor markets in the U.S. Foxconn originally projected it would hire 9,817 hourly operators, 2,363 engineers, and 820 business support staff, according to an economic impact statement prepared by Ernst & Young LLP. The company, the Taiwanese supplier to Apple Inc., has been trying to tap Chinese engineers through internal transfers to supplement staffing for the Wisconsin plant, according to people familiar with the matter. However, few Chinese workers have volunteered to move to Wisconsin if called upon.  Source: The Wall Street Journal 11/6/18, CNN 11/6/18

That’s why Amazon is using a two-city approach: Amazon plans to split its headquarters between two cities to better source tech talent, according to multiple reports. The Wall Street Journal reported there would be two headquarters locations, with one in Arlington County, Virginia.  The other appears to be Long Island City in Queens.  However, Dallas may still be in the running.  It was also reported that another reason for the two-city approach is for Amazon to have better negotiating power by playing one location against the other. Source:  HR Dive 11/6/18

Lawsuits arising from inadequate COBRA notices:  The federal COBRA rules require the plan administrator of a group health plan to provide certain notices to plan participants, both upon initial enrollment in the plan and upon a qualifying event, such as a termination of employment or divorce, if that event results in the loss of health plan coverage or an increase in the premiums being charged to the individual.  The federal COBRA rules also require that such notices contain certain information. The recent spate of lawsuits has attacked employers for failing to ensure that their COBRA notices contained all of the required information, even if that missing information was fairly immaterial. Why would a plaintiff bring such a suit? Courts can assess up to a $110 per day penalty for each deficient COBRA notice per person, and plaintiffs' law firms can often get their fees paid.  One way to avoid these lawsuits is to have the COBRA administrator use model COBRA notices provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.  Source: Foley & Lardner 11/5/18

HIPPA fines increasing in 2019: HIPPA fines are increasing as follows:  Penalty for each pre-February 2009 violation of the HIPAA administrative simplification provision: $155 (up from $152), with a calendar year cap of $38,954 (up from $38,175).        Penalty for each February 2009 or later violation of a HIPAA administrative simplification provision in which a covered entity or business associate did not know and, by exercising reasonable diligence, would not have known that violation occurred: $114 minimum (up from $112), $57,051 maximum (up from $55,910), with a calendar year cap of $1,711,533.  Penalty for each February 2009 or later violation of a HIPAA administrative simplification provision in which it is established that the violation was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect: $1,141 minimum (up from $1,118), $57,051 maximum (up from $55,910), with a calendar year cap of $1,711,533.  Penalty for each February 2009 or later violation of a HIPAA administrative simplification provision in which the violation was due to willful neglect and timely corrected (generally within 30 days): $11,410 minimum (up from $11,182), $57,051 maximum (up from $55,910), with a calendar year cap of $1,711,533.  Penalty for each February 2009 or later violation of a HIPAA administrative simplification provision in which the violation was due to willful neglect, but not timely corrected: $57,051 minimum (up from $55,910), $1,711,533 maximum (up from $1,677,299), with a calendar year cap of $1,711,533.  Source:  CCH 11/7/18

California votes in Daylight Saving Time all year round:  California still marches to its own drum.  The Daylight Saving Time Act came into force in 1949 in the U.S., requiring clocks to be set forward by an hour every spring and fall back an hour every fall.  The justification for the change is a 2009 Michigan State University study that found that heart attacks and car accidents increase when people lose an hour of sleep by putting their clocks forward every March. Florida had previously voted for the same.  However, any change still requires the backing of a two-thirds majority in Congress, as well as a change in federal law.  Source: Newsweek 11/7/18