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Compensation & Benefits

Employers budget for 3.1% pay raises in 2015

08/18/2014
U.S. workers can expect pay raises averaging 3.1% in 2015, according to the 41st annual WorldatWork Salary Budget Survey. The nonprofit organization found that U.S. employers’ budgets for pay increases have risen slightly from 2.9% in 2013.

Advance health credits: The math may not be so simple

08/18/2014
No one likes surprises, least of all tax surprises. Employees who signed up for individual health insurance through a health insurance exchange, and who took the advance premium tax credit on a monthly basis, may be in for doozy of a tax bill, after they reconcile those advance credits with their eligibility for the actual credit on their 2014 Forms 1040.

CVS bans smokes from its campus as well as its shelves

08/15/2014
The drug store chain that famously announced it would rid its store shelves of tobacco products by Oct. 1 first made its own corporate campus tobacco-free.

Beware even tiny pay gaps between men and women

08/14/2014
Even a small gender-based pay differential may be­­come the foundation of a class-action lawsuit.

New COBRA notice could help workers–and you, too

08/14/2014
You can finally make the Affordable Care Act work for you. The U.S. Depart­­ment of Labor has updated its model COBRA notice to emphasize that separated employees who qualify for COBRA continuation coverage may want to buy health insurance through the ACA’s exchanges instead.

IRS reg alert: ACA waiting periods, FICA/FUTA exemptions

08/14/2014
The IRS has been busy adding to its regulatory agenda. Here’s the latest news from the regulations front.

IRS issues final regs on the health care tax credit

08/14/2014
Under final ACA regulations, employers that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees who earn up to $50,000 (adjusted for inflation), and that make nonelective contributions equal to at least 50% of employees’ health premiums, are eligible for a 50% health care tax credit (35% for nonprofits).

Issued: Proposed rules for reporting contractor compensation

08/13/2014
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has released proposed regulations for implementing a White House executive order requiring government contractors and subcontractors to provide summary data on their compensation practices to the Department of Labor.

D.C.-area employers feature fun food perks

08/13/2014
Employees of Washington, D.C.-area companies that made The Washington Post’s inaugural list of the area’s top workplaces are apparently very well fed. Amid the medical, vacation and flex benefits cited by employees of the top firms are a huge number of perks involving company-supplied food.

Low-wage baby boomers face retirement poverty

08/12/2014
Your lowest-paid older workers can look forward to retirements defined by even poorer income prospects, according to economists who study wage and financial-planning data.