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Compensation & Benefits

Legal considerations in eliminating sick pay benefits

05/01/2008
Q. Is it legal in the state of Colorado for an employer to take away paid employee sick leave? If sick leave is a benefit, can the employer suddenly decide that it’s going to take it away, or does it have to pay you for the hours? Can the employer be required to freeze it for you to use if you need it? Can it be forced to pay accrued sick leave if you leave the company? …

New state law adds ‘Military status’ to protected classes

05/01/2008
The recently enacted Ohio Veterans Package amends the Ohio Civil Rights Act to bar discrimination based on “military status.” As a result, Ohio employers now face new legal requirements on both the state and federal fronts for how they treat military employees and their families …

Mandated sick leave: Coming to a state or city near you?

05/01/2008
Washington, D.C., has become the second city to guarantee employees paid sick leave to care for themselves or a sick child. More than a dozen states are weighing legislation to mandate paid sick leave for employees …

KPMG attracts, retains employees with generous paid vacation time

05/01/2008
When global accounting firm KPMG hires a new employee, that recruit gets five weeks of paid vacation time—on Day One …

Can you force workers to take vacation time?

05/01/2008
It might be a good idea to nudge employees out the door if they’re reluctant to use their vacation time, especially if they handle your company’s finances. For example, the rogue trader who recently cost a French bank $7.2 billion in fraud reportedly never took a day’s vacation or sick leave …

You picked a fine time to leave me: Penalties for quitting without notice

05/01/2008
Q. Can an employer in Colorado fine an employee who quits without giving two weeks’ notice? …

Phoenix firm treats staff to shopping spree

05/01/2008
The 23 employees of Phoenix-based Creative Business Resources got something extra in their holiday bonus envelopes last December: $150 cash for a personal shopping spree. And they got one December afternoon off—with pay—to spend it …

You sometimes can boost benefits during union election

05/01/2008
As a general rule, once a union organizing drive is under way at a nonunion workplace, management can’t make any changes to the terms and conditions of employment. But what if the changes management wants to make are ones that the company has routinely made around that same time of year? …

New resource helps you launch auto-Enroll 401(k)

05/01/2008
Looking to increase participation in your 401(k)? With the government’s recent blessing, more employers are turning their 401(k) plans into “opt-out” plans rather than “opt-in.” …

Can an early lunchtime mean no break time?

05/01/2008
Q. If I work from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., can my employer allow a 10-minute break in the morning, lunch at 11 a.m. and no break in the afternoon because I didn’t work four hours after lunch? …