• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

Five items Payroll needs to address this year

01/05/2023
We wish we had a crystal ball, but we don’t. Nevertheless, 2023 is looking like another challenging year for Payroll. Here are five items we see coming this year.

SECURE Act 2.0: So nice Congress did it twice

01/03/2023
The last act of the 117th Congress was to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Tucked not-so-deep into the CAA is the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022—90+ provisions focused on 401(k) and other retirement plans. SECURE 2.0 builds on what we can now call SECURE 1.0, which was enacted in 2019.

Catch people doing good and reward them for it

12/22/2022
Read any leadership book or attend any leadership seminar and you will often hear that employer recognition does not happen often enough. It’s a fact that best-selling leadership author Paul Falcone wholeheartedly agrees with. And recognizing employees’ efforts publicly—and often—is key.

Respect for Marriage Act passes; employers, take note

12/21/2022
The Respect for Marriage Act passed into law with bipartisan support in December and protects marriage for LGBTQ+ and interracial couples. The act ensures that a marriage that is legal in one state is recognized by all. Take this opportunity to review your benefits offerings to ensure they align with federal, state and local laws.

How to spot and prevent burnout

12/20/2022
Everyone has a limit. When walking into work (or taking the few steps to the home office) becomes a challenge, your employees are probably on track to experience burnout. The ability to spot and—more importantly—prevent burnout can save great workers from absences or the pursuit of greener pastures.

Sleep is overrated: Zillow expands parental leave

12/20/2022
Parental leave is among the benefits that interest working women most, according to a 2022 summer survey by the insurance broker Breeze.

Labeling a fund “ESG” doesn’t make it an ESG fund, SEC charges

12/20/2022
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged an investment adviser’s subsidiary with violating the Investment Advisers Act for failing to implement written policies and procedures for the selection of environmental, social and governance investments.

Snapshot: It’s not too late for holiday gifts

12/20/2022
Many companies try to recognize employees with something extra this time of year. What “extras”? Cash tops the list.

New York state will bar retaliation against workers who take legally protected time off

12/15/2022
The law appears to focus on “points-based” attendance, in which employers impose points, or demerits, on employees for absences, often without regard for the reason for the absence—including medical reasons, which can be protected under the FMLA and other laws.

Court calls working beyond pay grade intolerable

12/15/2022
Generally, workers must be turned down for a job, demoted or fired before they can sue their employers and allege discrimination as the reason. But as with many things in life, there’s an exception—the concept of constructive discharge holds that if an employer makes the employee’s work life “intolerable,” that justifies quitting. The worker can then sue despite not having been fired.