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Compensation & Benefits

Add new health insurance numbers to your W-2s

05/21/2010
Beginning in the 2011 tax year, employers will be required to report the “aggregate cost” of “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” on their employees’ W-2 forms.

Vacationing worker got flu: Can she call it sick leave?

05/20/2010
Q. One of our employees got the flu while she was out on vacation leave. Now she wants her vacation time back and wants to call those “sick days” instead. Do we have to let her change the status of this leave time?

Volunteerism can benefit your bottom line

05/19/2010

Don’t be surprised if the new college grads who interview for jobs with your organization this summer tell you they’re looking for an employer that gives back to the community. Employee volunteer programs are morphing from a “nice-to-have” benefit to an expectation among employees and recruits—and it’s happening quickly. Here are five tips for starting a volunteer program:

IRS rolls out health care reform tax credit guidelines for small employers

05/18/2010
The Internal Revenue Service has issued preliminary guidelines on the tax credit available to small employers that provide health insurance benefits to employees. Be a team player — and save your organization some money — by passing this information along to the people down the hall who handle tax compliance matters.

Can we terminate employee who has used all FMLA leave but still needs time off?

05/17/2010
Q. Can we terminate an employee who has exhausted his FMLA leave but needs additional time off to care for his serious health condition? Or must we provide additional leave?

Are milk expression breaks mandatory?

05/17/2010
Q. I know a number of states already have laws that require employers to provide unpaid breaks to nursing mothers to express breast milk. Are there any federal laws providing for similar requirements?

Must we grant dad intermittent FMLA leave after baby is born?

05/17/2010
Q. Do we have to grant an employee’s request for intermittent FMLA leave to care for his newborn son?

Calculating the time-worked threshold for FMLA eligibility

05/17/2010

To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee “must have been employed for at least 1,250 hours of service” with his or her employer during the 12 months prior to the commencement of the FMLA leave. That seems simple enough. But in the world of FMLA administration, nothing is as simple as it seems.

When reasonable accommodation is time off, it’s OK to count it as FMLA leave

05/17/2010
Employees whose disabilities require reasonable accommodations in the form of breaks or a modified schedule don’t get to save their FMLA leave for later use. Employers are free to subtract the time off from any FMLA hours available.

FMLA notice: Rely on what you know–not policy

05/17/2010

A good sick leave policy includes rules governing how employees are supposed to let their employers know that they’re ill. Employees generally have to follow those rules or face discipline. But there are circumstances under which employees may be excused from following the rules. One of those exceptions: when the employer has direct notice that the employee is ill and may need FMLA leave.