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Compensation & Benefits

Understand the fine line between an exempt professional and nonexempt technician

04/15/2010
To save on overtime costs, employers often try to shoehorn employees into Fair Labor Standards Act exemptions. That can be a potentially devastating mistake. This square-peg-in-a-round-hole problem often occurs when employers try to fit employees into the FLSA’s professional exemption.

Is it time to restore your 401(k) match?

04/15/2010
Eighty percent of employers that stopped contributing to employees’ 401(k)s in 2009 plan to restore company matches by the end of this year, according to Hewitt Associates. To make it easier for employees to amass adequate retirement savings, Hewitt recommends four steps employers can take:

Changes in benefits? Make sure employees on military leave get written notice, too

04/13/2010
Employers that change their disability or other benefit plans know to inform their employees about those changes. But what about employees on military leave? Make sure they get notice, too.

How to offer flex schedules to all workers

04/13/2010

Plenty of organizations offer flexible schedules, allow telework and let parents slip out early once in a while to catch a child’s soccer game. But in many workplaces, those benefits are perks that only managers and white-collar workers enjoy. Yet several studies show that when low-wage employees have some flexibility in their hours, teamwork improves and unscheduled absences abate. If your organization’s lower-wage employees are candidates for flex, consider these eight strategies.

12 simple ways to boost your wellness program’s effectiveness

04/09/2010

One side effect of the recession: Cash-strapped employees are eating more processed and fast foods and exercising less, studies show. All the more reason for employers to maintain or even expand funding for employee wellness programs. As your organization watches every dollar it spends on benefits, consider the latest research on what’s working when it comes to employer wellness programs.

Albany nurses could benefit from Chicago settlement

04/07/2010

In a case with implications for Albany-area nurses, Illinois nurses have settled a lawsuit that claimed Chicago-area hospitals colluded to depress wages in violation of antitrust laws. Nurse Alliance, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, has filed a similar suit against Albany-area hospitals.

Temp position OK during intermittent leave

04/07/2010

When employees take intermittent FMLA leave, it often causes logistical problems for employers. It’s hard to find someone to fill in during just those times when the employee is off. One solution is to find another position for the employee who’s taking intermittent leave. That way, another employee can temporarily fill her old position on a full-time basis.

The hidden HR hurdles of health care reform

04/06/2010
It’s no wonder that some provisions of the recently enacted health care reform law flew under the media radar. After all, it’s more than 2,000 pages long. But HR pros need to know about new requirements concerning reporting of employer-provided health benefits, breastfeeding at work and background checks for health care workers.

‘Babies-at-work’ benefits answer a crying need

04/06/2010
Even as the economy forces some organizations to cut benefits, it’s prompting others to add one: allowing parents to bring their babies to work. In just two years, the number of organizations with a babies-at-work benefit has more than doubled. The key, experts say, is to set up formal policies to guide moms and managers alike. Here’s how one company does it.

Can employee sue over alleged ‘promised’ pay?

04/06/2010
Q. We have an employee who insists that he was told when he was offered the job that he would earn at least as much as he earned in his last job. There is nothing in writing. Can he sue us?