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Compensation & Benefits

Can we ask employee to use paid leave before receiving workers’ comp benefits

04/01/2008
Q. Can an employee who is receiving workers’ compensation wage continuation benefits be required to use sick, vacation and personal leave time to cover days missed due to the work-related injury? …

Incapacity doesn’t extend time to contact EEO counselor

04/01/2008
Federal employees are required to contact their agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity counsel within 45 days of experiencing alleged discrimination unless circumstances beyond an employee’s control prevent her from contacting the counselor. But it takes more than a blanket “I was depressed” to win an extension …

Tooth Fairy ups the ante

04/01/2008
The results of the annual Tooth Fairy Poll from Delta Dental of Minnesota show that payments for teeth are up 44% in the state. The average gift to children is currently $2.10 per tooth here …

Beware using medical costs as employment factor

04/01/2008
It may be tempting to refuse to hire an applicant who could raise your health insurance costs. By the same token, it may seem like a good idea to terminate employees who keep filing expensive health insurance claims for themselves or their dependents. Don’t do it! The penalties for such discrimination can be high …

Sleeping on the job may mean no unemployment benefits

04/01/2008
Under the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act, terminated employees are not eligible to receive unemployment compensation benefits if they are discharged for “misconduct.” Misconduct is a deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable work rule or policy. But what about an employee who unintentionally violates a rule or policy? …

Cutting health insurance costs by declining to cover contraception

04/01/2008
Q. Our company is trying to reduce our medical insurance costs. I have been asked whether we could eliminate coverage for contraceptives. If we provide health care that includes a prescription drug benefit, are we required to provide coverage for contraceptives? …

Dilbert and the drunken lemurs

04/01/2008
The Catfish Bend Casino in Iowa fired David Steward recently after surveillance video showed that Steward posted a Dilbert comic strip on an office bulletin board.  The comic strip implied the company’s bosses were a bunch of “drunken lemurs.” …

Schwarzenegger vows to continue health care reform

04/01/2008
On Jan. 29, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement that he is determined to change California’s health care system despite the defeat of A.B.X. 11, the omnibus health care reform legislation that recently stalled in Sacramento …

Double dipping? Severance payments and unemployment compensation

04/01/2008
Q. May a terminated employee receiving payments under a severance agreement also receive unemployment benefits? …

Pennsylvania workers’ comp costs to fall this year

04/01/2008
The price of workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania is going down this year. Gov. Ed Rendell accepted the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau’s recommended rate schedules, which decreased workers’ comp premiums by an average of 10.22% …