• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

Green light on class actions for employees willing to gamble

01/09/2009

Employees can file class-action lawsuits on behalf of all similarly situated employees to recover unpaid overtime and other unpaid wages—if they are willing to give up their statutory rights to penalties and liquidated damages under New York State labor laws.

Staffing company owes $113,000 to Long Island club workers

01/09/2009

Star One Staffing has agreed to pay $113,000 in back wages and damages to 70 Filipino workers who served as waiters, waitresses and bus staff at exclusive Long Island country clubs.

Must we pay for short smoking breaks?

01/09/2009

Q. Would a brief clock-out (initiated by the employee) of less than 20 minutes, such as an impromptu smoking break or personal phone call break, need to be paid as work time?

6 ways to boost the ROI of your adoption benefits

01/06/2009

Like a mother who has just given birth, the parent who adopts a child needs time to bond and adjust to a household that’s been turned upside down by the arrival of a new family member. According to Hewitt Associates, that’s the consensus of the approximately 45% of U.S. companies that offer money or paid time off to adoptive parents. Here are six ways to make the most of an adoption benefit for your employees …

Make sure employees understand the value of their benefits

01/05/2009

Boosting your benefits communication during troubled economic times can help your organization retain good employees and ease their worries so they can focus on work. The key: Show employees the value of their benefits.

Career mentors help colleagues who are attending school

01/05/2009

Mercy Health System in Janesville, Wis., pays up to $3,000 per employee for college tuition, and $1,000 more if the employee works with an in-house mentor for up to three years.

Free laptops result in fewer snow days

01/05/2009

Standard & Poor’s has come up with a solution to snow days for employees of its Centennial, Colo., office: laptops. The credit ratings firm gives a laptop computer to any Centennial employee who wants to work from home during foul weather.

Avis Budget Group to close call center in Wichita Falls

01/05/2009

Avis Budget Group has announced that it plans to close a call center in Wichita Falls, in addition to a claims processing facility in Orlando, Fla., as part of its efforts to cut 2,200 jobs worldwide.

Do homework before selecting gift cards for employees

01/05/2009

Employees say gift cards make the best gifts, rewards or incentives. But buying gift cards from stores during a recession could be risky. Before you spend your incentive budget on cards that generate more problems than appreciation, do some homework.

Do year-end bonuses affect pay status?

01/05/2009

Q. What effect do end-of-year bonus payments have on a nonexempt recipient’s hourly rate of pay?