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Insurance

Align comp & benefits with phased-Retirement options

07/01/2007

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows employers to pay pension benefits to employees age 62 and older who are covered under a defined-benefit pension plan even if they continue to work. The change makes phased retirement a viable option for employers who want to keep their mature, experienced workers …

Profit sharing and ‘No walls’ management boost job referrals

07/01/2007

About 70% of all hires at Findley, Ohio-based hiring firm Right Thing come highly recommended by the organization’s own employees. What gets employees talking to their friends about joining the firm? It’s the company’s laid-back atmosphere—with no formal managers or departments—and an employee profit-sharing plan that involves half the company profits …

Largest insurer ties staff bonuses to customers’ health

07/01/2007

WellPoint, the largest U.S. health insurer (based on commercial membership), has tied part of its 42,000 employees’ annual bonuses to the health of its 34 million members …

Texas employers to receive unemployment-Tax refunds

07/01/2007

Texas employers who had paid taxes into the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund are set to receive approximately $320 million in refunds …

Workers’ comp department improves web forms

07/01/2007

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation, recently improved the functionality of more than 90 forms posted on its web site …

Health-Care inflation ‘Good news’ is relative: Rate increases fall again, but still above 10%

06/19/2007

While health-care costs are forecast to rise at a slower pace in 2008, don’t get too excited: Those costs will still increase at a double-digit rate. Here are the numbers, plus three suggestions for ways to successfuly "sell" health-premium increases to employees.

As Same-Sex Unions Spread, So Do Job Protections

06/01/2007

New Hampshire last month voted to give same-sex couples the same legal rights as other couples, making New England the first region in which every state provides some sort of protection for the civil unions of same-sex partners …

Obesity equals higher absenteeism, workers’ comp costs

06/01/2007

A great deal of attention has focused on the direct health costs caused by obese employees. But a new Duke University Medical Center study shows obesity also takes a heavy toll on your workers’ comp costs and absenteeism rates …

Commuting injury not covered by workers’ compensation unless the route is hazardous

06/01/2007

Generally, Michigan employees aren’t entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries that happen while driving to or from work. One exception is that for so-called “excessive exposure to traffic risks” …

Striking employees forfeit unemployment comp

06/01/2007

Q. We are in contract negotiations, and there is some concern that our employees will actually vote to go out on strike. Are striking employees eligible for unemployment compensation benefits in Michigan?—F.B.