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Compensation & Benefits

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.

You can’t demand exact day for FMLA treatment

10/09/2009

Employees who suffer from chronic conditions may have to see their doctors regularly. Under the FMLA, if those employees give you 30 days’ notice, they’re allowed to pick the day for their appointment. You can’t simply argue that they don’t need to take off that particular day because there is no emergency or urgency.

Home health aide who challenged FLSA exemption dies

10/09/2009

Evelyn Coke, the Queens home health care aide who took her fight against U.S. Department of Labor overtime regulations all the way to the Supreme Court, has died at age 74.

Health insurance: Employees to pay higher portion of health benefits

10/07/2009

Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to an average $13,375 annually for family coverage this year, and employers are likely to pass even more of the cost to employees next year, according to a benchmark survey of employers. When asked about their plans for next year, 21% of employers said they are “very likely” to raise workers’ premium contributions.

A HITECH world: New law expands HIPAA enforcement power

10/05/2009

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, was designed to advance the use of health information technology, such as electronic health records. Among other important aspects, the HITECH Act expands the scope and enforcement power of HIPAA, with greater penalties for noncompliance.