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Compensation & Benefits

Indiana employers respond to higher gas prices

08/26/2008
The LaPorte District of Indiana’s Department of Transportation (INDOT) has instituted a four-day workweek for operations workers to battle high fuel costs. INDOT hopes the move will bring 10% savings on fuel, utilities and fleet maintenance costs …

Gas pains: Implemented properly, telecommuting can be win-Win

08/26/2008
During this period of high gas prices, telecommuting could help employees cut commuting costs. With the right kind of phone and computer equipment, many workers can do their jobs as effectively from home as they can from their usual work sites. Employers benefit from increased productivity and lower absenteeism, higher retention rates and better employee morale …

Is it legal to discipline an employee for tardiness by suspending her without pay?

08/26/2008
Q. I work in HR at a customer call-in center. To make sure we have enough coverage to handle calls, we have a strict tardiness policy. Recently, one of our customer service agents was late for work several days in a row. She is an otherwise outstanding performer and we don’t want to fire her. In the alternative, we would like to suspend her for one week without pay. Is that legal? …

Beware the Overtime Trap that Even Tripped up the Army

08/26/2008
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations say that certain kinds of "outside" salespeople are exempt from the FLSA’s overtime provisions. But to qualify as exempt, a salesperson must be the one who closes the sale. As  the following case shows—and as an Army recruiting contractor recently found out—that test can be a high hurdle.

Underpaying claims will cost health insurer $255 million

08/25/2008
The insurance firm Health Net will pay $255 million to settle three class-action lawsuits alleging it used a flawed database that sometimes under-reimbursed members’ insurance claims …

Transfer that call! Let benefits admin field pension queries

08/25/2008
Employees often rely on benefits information to make major life decisions—e.g., setting a retirement date or turning down a job offer—so it’s wise to let your benefits administrator field the questions rather handling them internally. Here’s why: Something as simple as making a mistake while calculating the employee’s years of service can lead to an ERISA lawsuit years later over retirement benefits …

Research, diligence, documentation key to making good-Faith FLSA classifications

08/25/2008
Under the FLSA, exempt employees don’t receive overtime pay. But figuring out just who fits in one of the exemptions is not an easy task. Get it wrong, and you could be liable for twice the overtime you should have paid, going back two years. Get it really wrong—by failing to act in good faith—and you’ll have to pay for an additional year. There’s a small silver lining behind that dark cloud …

Keep daily injury logs to ensure legit workers’ comp claims

08/22/2008
Employees who hurt themselves at work sometimes wait weeks or even months before filing a workers’ compensation claim. What at first seems like a relatively harmless injury can flare into a debilitating condition months later. Such late claims put employers at a serious disadvantage …

Track which employees have access to hazardous areas

08/22/2008
If your organization manufactures products, your employees probably come in contact with hazardous chemicals or solvents from time to time. Of course, you follow OSHA guidelines and make sure employees on the production line use adequate protective gear. But what if an employee who works in the front office decides her lung or other health problems are work related and files for workers’ compensation? … 

N.C. workers’ compensation may cover injury-related depression

08/22/2008

Employees who are hurt on the job sometimes become depressed because they can’t do the things they previously could. That depression may then complicate their recovery or even prevent them from getting better. The practical result is that employers and their workers’ compensation carriers will have to pay lost wages longer …