Brannen in Brief

The SEC's executive compensation disclosure requirements have been confusing at best to the boards that grapple with them. Soon companies will have another challenging disclosure hurdle: transparency in 401(k) fees.

Enron wasn't the first company to abuse workers' pension plans but the heartbreaking losses suffered by that company's employees shined a spotlight on the issue. Since then, employees with concerns about how their defined benefit plans and 401(k)s are managed have been going to court more readily than in pre-Enron days.

Medical ethicists will be debating the social and economic ramifications of genetic information for a long time to come, but legislators have stepped up to the plate in deciding employers right to use individuals' genetic information in hiring and firing decisions and in providing health coverage.

Employers' costs for long-term disability insurance have been on the rise and they could escalate further if the Supreme Court finds in favor of an Ohio woman who is suing MetLife.

Companies that once lured talented new hires with generous stock options -- the value of which they manipulated -- continue to get their comeuppance.

Where do women who work in corporate finance stand in relation to men?

Merrill Lynch is reportedly trying to dig itself out of its subprime mess by instituting a cost-saving plan that includes staff reductions of 10 percent to 15 percent of its non-broker workforce. However, a new study has found that companies that conduct layoffs often end up with more turnover than they had bargained for.

Workers Memorial Day, a tribute to workers injured or killed in the workplace, has become a political football for lawmakers that continues to result in a clash in the House and the Senate -- and for management and staff of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the day brings severe criticism of its activities.

The Garden State joined California and Washington D.C. in requiring businesses to provide eligible workers with paid leave for up to six weeks per year to care for a new child, sick relative, or to deal with a personal health crisis.

If you think that the 80,000 recent job losses in the United States will affect the demand for skilled foreign workers who come here on H-1B visas, think again.