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Compensation & Benefits

Texas deadlines tighter than Ledbetter Act’s

03/04/2011
A Texas appeals court has ruled that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 doesn’t change the deadline for filing a claim under the Texas Labor Code. Employees still have to use the pay decision date as the start of the filing deadline.

Tell bosses: Don’t play doctor with the FMLA

03/04/2011

When an employee asks for and is granted FMLA leave, absences that occur during the approved leave can’t be held against him. That includes days when he might be able to work but, according to doctors, shouldn’t do so. According to a Texas court, that means employers can’t retroactively assess absenteeism points during FMLA leave.

Can we require employee to use Medicare?

03/04/2011
Q. We have an older employee who is now eligible for Medicare. Can we require him to take Medicare coverage instead of our health plan?

Health law repeal dies in Senate; now look for business groups to seek piecemeal changes

03/02/2011
Although the House of Representatives passed legislation in January repealing President Obama’s health care reform law, the bill arrived DOA in the Senate. Now look for opponents to push piecemeal changes to the law. Where do businesses want them to start?

PTOs go mainstream; benchmark your plan

03/01/2011
Paid time off (PTO) plans have shot up in popularity in recent years and now are nearly the majority type of employee leave program at U.S. organizations. Use the following data from the recent Paid Time Off Programs and Practices survey by WorldatWork to benchmark your organization’s PTO practices.

Can we make direct deposit mandatory?

02/28/2011
Q. Can a business require employees to use direct deposit to receive their pay?

How should we go about changing severance pay policies spelled out in employment agreements?

02/28/2011
Q. Can we reduce the severance amounts cited in employment agreements we have with certain staff as long as we notify them of the change?

Social Security disability may mean no ADA suit

02/28/2011
Can someone claim they’re so disabled they need Social Security benefits, yet still tell an employer they can perform a job’s essential functions? Sounds fishy, right? A judge thought so.

AK Steel to pay $175 million for Butler retirees’ health care

02/28/2011
AK Steel has settled a lawsuit brought by former employees of its Butler Works operation north of Pittsburgh after the company announced it would cut some retirement health benefits and begin charging premiums for others.

Track every step in your promotion process

02/28/2011

Employees can be ungrateful. Sometimes, they’ll turn down promotion offers because the deal isn’t sweet enough—and then sue, alleging that low pay was evidence of bias. Win those cases by producing documentation of the entire promotion process, including how you set pay.