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Compensation & Benefits

The HR I.Q. Test: September ’10

09/13/2010
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

16 creative and cheap ways to say ‘thank you’

09/13/2010
Q. I started in HR at a company six months ago and morale is really low. I want to start an employee appreciation program. Can you share some inexpensive things that work in your company? Here are some suggestions from readers of the HR Specialist Forum:

Beware legal risk of raising employee’s title in lieu of pay

09/09/2010

With nervous employers still keeping generous raises on the shelf, more companies are turning to job title promotions to show their appreciation. The risk: The titles themselves don’t reflect the duties of the position and required expertise, which can cause difficulty separating exempt and non-exempt employees.

Feds’ Payroll Savings plan going paperless in 2011

09/09/2010
Starting Jan. 1, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will no longer issue paper Savings Bonds through employer-sponsored payroll savings plans. Employees can still save through savings bonds, but the process will have to be done electronically.

Fired after injury, star worker sues Delta under ADA

09/08/2010

Call it a missed opportunity. Call it a misunderstanding. Nancy Grozdanich-Lipinski did neither. She called her lawyer. Grozdanich-Lipinski is suing her former employer, Delta Airlines, for violations of the ADA.

Sued for counting FMLA against fired worker? Prove you planned to discharge anyway

09/08/2010
If you’re deciding whether to fire an employee for attendance problems (under a no-fault attendance policy, for example), you must make sure you aren’t counting FMLA leave against her. However, all is not lost if you accidentally add in an FMLA absence—as long as you can show you still would have fired the employee because of other attendance problems.

Train supervisors on FMLA notice process

09/08/2010
Train supervisors and managers on situations that could trigger the FMLA leave determination process. The best approach is to suggest they notify HR if an employee calls in sick and implies anything more than “I’m sick today.” If the employee provides any detail that makes it seem likely he or a family member is suffering from a serious health condition, he should be referred to HR to determine if he’s eligible for FMLA leave.

What can we do about an employee who has been blasting us on his personal web site?

09/08/2010
Q. One of my employees has created his own web site and has been posting negative comments about our company. Specifically, he has accused the company of failing to provide adequate benefits and paying below-market wages. Can we fire this worker for this conduct?

Employee says workers’ comp claim led to firing

09/08/2010
The oil-field communications company RigNet faces a lawsuit alleging it fired an injured field technician after he filed for workers’ compensation benefits.

Texas judge tells strikers to stop sticker campaign

09/08/2010
A Texas judge has ordered members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union to stop placing stickers airing their grievances on jars of Mott’s apple juice and other beverages made by Mott’s parent company, Dr Pepper Snapple.