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Compensation & Benefits

Feds will go easy on health-law mistakes–for now

08/09/2010
The regulations explaining the new health care reform law have begun to roll out of Washington. Michael Aitken, SHRM’s director of government affairs, says employers will make mistakes but the IRS, Department of Labor and HHS are expected to be understanding—at least for a while.

Checking up on alleged leave abuser? Document why you suspect particular employee

08/06/2010

Do you think some employees may be taking advantage of your paid leave plan? If so, it’s OK to set up a surveillance program to catch the worst offenders. Just make sure you document why a particular employee’s behavior is suspicious. Good reasons to check up include “coincidental” timing like absences clustered around weekends or holidays.

Must we pay workers who have been suspended?

08/06/2010
Q. We recently sent an employee home for not following his supervisor’s instructions. Do we have an obligation to pay him for the full day regardless? How should we handle this situation in the future? Is this considered administrative leave?

Fired employee for poor judgment? He may still qualify for unemployment comp

08/06/2010

Employees who are terminated for misconduct aren’t entitled to unemployment compensation. However, what rises to the level of misconduct requires an individualized assessment. In fact, using poor judgment alone isn’t misconduct. Employees who make a mistake are eligible for benefits, and the mistake doesn’t have to be a work mistake.

Ohio Supreme Court OKs maternity leave waiting period

08/06/2010
Ruling against the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a nursing home’s policy of requiring one year of service before providing maternity leave did not violate state law.

Bounced payroll checks? Make good on them right away

08/06/2010

These are tough times, and sometimes businesses run short on cash. Or a banking mistake may result in fees that cause other checks to bounce. If that happens to payroll checks, make every effort to fix the problem as soon as possible. Not only are employees entitled to their pay, some have resorted to suing their employers for bouncing paychecks.

Another reason to insist on following rules: Fired scofflaws can’t get unemployment

08/06/2010

Does your organization have strict honesty rules designed to prevent employee theft and fraud? If so, rest assured that you’ll have just cause for firing employees who break those rules. And that means they won’t be eligible for unemployment compensation.

Employee being disciplined suddenly gets ‘sick’? Don’t fall for ruse invoking FMLA protection

08/06/2010
This will probably happen to you someday (if it hasn’t already): An employee in the middle of being disciplined suddenly says he’s ill and has to leave work. Then, after being terminated, he claims you interfered with his right to take FMLA leave. Don’t fall for it.

When tracking FMLA abuse, use surveillance cautiously

08/05/2010
Before you decide to videotape someone whom you suspect may be abusing FMLA leave, make sure you have a good-faith reason to do so. And be prepared to show that surveillance is a common practice for similar suspicions.

Employee volunteers get 8 paid hours a year

08/05/2010
Every employee of Cydcor, a California-based sales company, can take any day off each year to devote to volunteer work. The paid day off is part of Cydcor Cares, a program that encourages employees to donate time and money to community causes.