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Compensation & Benefits

Don’t set weekend deadline for appealing benefits denial

08/26/2015
When an employer (or plan administrator) denies a request to receive an ERISA-covered benefit, it must inform the employee that he must appeal by a certain date, typically 180 days. When the 180th day falls on a weekend, those days aren’t counted.

New same-day settlement rules mean faster funds

08/26/2015
NACHA—the electronic banking organization that makes direct deposit and other electronic transactions possible—has revised its rules to allow for same-day settlement of electronic transactions, including payroll.

Consumer-driven health plan satisfaction rising

08/20/2015
People with health insurance continue to express higher satisfaction with traditional health plans compared with so-called “consumer-driven” plans, but the satisfaction gap appears to be narrowing, according to new research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

More older workers keep working

08/19/2015
The number of older people who continue to work has increased dramatically in 10 years, with workforce participation among those 65 and older increasing by more than 80%. Here’s the percentage change in work participation by age, from 2006 to 2016.

Retirement plan participation depends on overall wages

08/14/2015
Well-paid private-sector employees are more than three times more likely to participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan than their lower-paid colleagues.

A silver lining to the SEC’s CEO pay-ratio rule?

08/13/2015
How can employers actually use the new CEO-to-median-employee pay ratio rule to their advantage?

2nd Circuit says interns don’t necessarily have to be paid

08/13/2015
In two recent cases decided in July, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has held that in many instances, unpaid interns may not necessarily be employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law.

Proposal would raise New York fast-food pay to at least $15 per hour

08/13/2015
New York’s Wage Board has endorsed a recommendation to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 per hour. The new hourly rate will apply to employees of chains with at least 30 locations in New York.

Don’t punish absences by taking away more leave than employee used

08/13/2015

You can punish employees who don’t show up as scheduled with a poor performance review or even discharge. But you cannot take away pay, either in the form of wages or by deducting days from the employee’s leave bank. Doing so may violate New York State’s Labor Law.

Revisiting domestic-partner coverage after Obergefell

08/13/2015
When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, plenty of HR pros started to wonder: Do we even need to offer health benefits to employees’ domestic partners anymore?