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Compensation & Benefits

Do you use subcontractors? Get solid advice on liability potential

07/01/2008
If your company uses subcontractors, you could end up liable for any injuries the subcontractors’ employees suffer while working for you. Or they could just collect workers’ comp. Which scenario will apply to you? A lot depends on whether or not your organization is the “statutory employer” …

Benefits on a shoestring: 8 tips

07/01/2008

Don’t waste your time and money offering benefits no one cares about. Review all your coverages. Conduct eligibility audits. Those are just some of the tips comp and benefits expert Gary Kushner has for HR pros eager to maximize the value and reduce the costs of the benefits they provide.

Can we send employees on an unpaid ‘Vacation’?

07/01/2008
Q. We are a physicians’ group with multiple sites. If one of our physicians, who has a small office with three employees, decides to go on vacation, can he legally say he wants only one employee to work and the other two have to take time off without pay? — J.B., Massachusetts …

Can we require time off as theft-Prevention measure?

07/01/2008
Q. As a theft-prevention measure, we require all employees with check-signatory power to take a 40-hour work period off every year. Can we require those employees to use accrued leave, such as vacation? Or, do we have to give them an extra paid week off? — P.B., Oklahoma …

Don’t count on vague leave language to limit care for employees’ family members

07/01/2008
The California Legislature concluded back in 1999 that employees should be able to use any sick leave their employers provide to care for sick family members—whether or not the employers’ policies allow them to do so. Employers can’t skirt that entitlement by not using the term “sick leave” or otherwise creating policies that are hard to pin down …

Can we replace a worker who is out on pregnancy disability leave?

07/01/2008

Q. One of our employees is on pregnancy disability leave. We are a small company and it will be difficult for us to keep her position open. May we hire another worker to replace her based on this hardship? …

Prepare now for Paid Family Leave Act, taking effect in 2009

07/01/2008
On May 2, 2008, Gov. Jon Corzine signed the Paid Family Leave Act (PFLA), making New Jersey the third state to provide workers with paid family-leave benefits. The PFLA takes effect on January 1, 2009, when employees will begin contributing to the fund …

Track intermittent leave meticulously when you offset FMLA time with paid leave

07/01/2008
Employers are allowed to substitute paid time off for unpaid FMLA leave. But employers have to let employees know that’s what they are doing. And that can get tricky if the employee is taking intermittent leave for a chronic condition, plus leave for other personal needs such as vacation or mild illness …

Unmarried co-Workers, childbirth and FMLA leave

07/01/2008
Q. Two of our employees (they aren’t married) are having a child together. I know that spouses who are employed by the same company have to share the 12 weeks of FMLA leave following the birth of a child. How does it work for unmarried parents in a workplace? …

Discrimination and pay issues when employee has jury duty

07/01/2008
Q. One of our employees has been called for jury duty. What are our obligations? …