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Compensation & Benefits

Employee enrichment retains talent, boosts productivity

05/23/2011
The effects of the recession have helped turn the spotlight on innovative employers that seem to have magic formulas for attracting and keeping their employees happy and productive despite the economic forces around them. SAS Institute and Google are two examples of companies that, consciously or not, have tapped into new ways of motivating employees. Call it “employee enrichment.”

What are California’s rules on lactation breaks?

05/20/2011
Q. Are we required to give our employees additional rest breaks in order to express breast milk?

Given California’s strict break rules, can employees work through lunch?

05/20/2011
Q. We give our employees the opportunity to take up to a one-hour lunch break every day. However, several of our employees have requested to work through their lunch break in order to leave work earlier. Is this legal?

Children’s Hospital nurses return to work after strike

05/20/2011
After a five-day strike, registered nurses have started returning to their jobs at Children’s Hospital in Oak­land. The nurses, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, walked out on May 5 over a dispute about health care benefits.

What will you decide: keep or drop employee health benefits?

05/20/2011
Most employers are not considering canceling health benefits as a result of the year-old health care reform law, according to two recent surveys. The Affordable Care Act may be politically unpopular, but employers assume that it will be a business fact of life for the foreseeable future.

Same-sex marriage & payroll: What happens now?

05/18/2011
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibits the extension of federal marriage benefits to same-sex couples who marry under state law. Some federal courts have ruled DOMA unconstitutional, and the Department of Justice says that it will no longer defend the law. But the IRS says it’s still enforcing DOMA as it applies to the tax laws that cover married couples.

The 8 most common overtime errors and how to fix them

05/17/2011
If your company is like most and cutting costs is a top priority, reducing overtime expenditures can make a big difference. Be careful with how you go about reining in overtime, though. Here are the eight most common OT errors you must avoid.

5 strategies to ease employees’ gas pains

05/17/2011
With gasoline prices soaring to their highest levels in almost three years, employers are looking again at ways to help employees keep their tanks filled—or at least get to work each day. Consider which of these strategies might ease the pain your employees feel at the gas pump.

3 ways to motivate extra employee effort

05/17/2011
In lean times, managers sometimes need employees to go above and beyond their normal duties. Don’t beg and plead for volunteers to step up. Instead, offer three kinds of rewards to persuade employees to give of themselves for the greater good of the organization.

2012 budget contains FUTA proposals

05/17/2011

States that borrow from the federal government to pay regular unemployment benefits must pay back those loans, including interest. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act waived interest payments for two years, but that provision expired at the end of last year, leaving an estimated 30 states to face a financial bind. President Obama’s 2012 budget proposal contains relief for strapped states and employers.