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Compensation & Benefits

The un-COLA: In some states, no inflation leaves a bitter taste in workers’ mouths

10/20/2009

Several states peg the minimum wage to the cost of living. For decades, inflation has meant cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that delivered regular pay raises. But what’s happening now that the cost of living has declined 1.3% so far this year?

‘Invisible Bracelet’ is Oklahoma’s newest benefit

10/16/2009

During open enrollment in October, state employees in Oklahoma had a chance to register for a new benefit that shares their health information with medical providers during an emergency via an "Invisible Bracelet." A handful of Oklahoma businesses are also signing up employees for the Invisible Bracelet as part of their health benefit.

Bonuses advanced and then rescinded: Does that threaten MFLSA exempt status?

10/15/2009

Q. Our bonus plan states that employees eligible to receive bonus pay will receive bonus advances with each paycheck based on year-to-date performance results. Last year, we were on track to meet the maximum bonus throughout most of the year, but the last few months of the year were slow and we didn’t meet our target goal. As a result, we deducted certain amounts from the last few paychecks of salaried employees. Do these deductions threaten the exempt status of the salaried employees?

Don’t guess on need for FMLA leave! Insist employees follow usual notification procedures

10/15/2009

Employees sometimes think that just calling in sick is enough to put their employers on notice that they need FMLA leave. That’s simply not the case. In the following case, the 8th Circuit concluded the new language in the FMLA means employers aren’t obligated to guess about an employee’s need for FMLA leave based on behavior.

Use a shared tip jar? You must divide the money by shift

10/15/2009

If your counter service employees share tips customers leave in a tip jar, how you divvy up the money is important. A new case makes it clear that those tips must be counted at the end of each shift and shared among the employees who worked that shift.

Financial firm offers extra perks to employees 50 or older

10/13/2009

At Securian Financial Group in St. Paul, it pays to age. Employees who have worked at the firm for at least 25 years can join the organization’s North 25 Club, a social group open to long-time employees and retirees. And when employees turn 50, they can attend a company-sponsored, multisession retirement income planning course.

Get legal advice when union tries to organize

10/13/2009

If you hear rumors that employees are talking about unionizing, call your attorney right away—and definitely before making any changes in the workplace. Otherwise, you may end up in court, fighting unfair labor practices charges.

Regularly review exempt status to avoid FLSA ‘job creep’

10/13/2009

Employees who don’t fit into one of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s exemption categories are entitled to overtime pay. Their job titles don’t matter. What counts are actual job duties. Those duties, of course, change over time. That’s why it’s important to review exempt status regularly—ideally, every time you update a job description.

8 lessons you can learn from the fed’s top agencies

10/13/2009

Set aside any notions you might have that the federal bureaucracy is inherently dysfunctional. In fact, Uncle Sam’s best agencies have a thing or two to teach private-sector employers. Here are eight lessons employers can learn from the biennial agency-by-agency ranking of federal employers by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.

Include family caregivers in anti-discrimination policies

10/09/2009

Family responsibility discrimination (FRD)—discrimination against employees because of their family caregiving duties—has become a hotbed for litigation against employers, and every indication is that this trend will continue. So it’s critical for employers to recognize the potential for liability and take necessary steps to avoid being the next defendant.