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

Compensation & Benefits

Options help Xerox staff cope with illness

01/01/2008

When illness strikes a family member, worry and stress can hurt job performance. Xerox helps employees manage complex diagnoses with a patient advocacy program …

Wellness program: Can you require employees to join?

01/01/2008

A “perfect storm” of an aging work force, escalating health care costs, more obese and sedentary employees and a looming shortage of skilled workers could drive organizations to make their wellness programs mandatory within a few years …

Employers—Not employees—Choose ADA accommodation

01/01/2008

Sometimes disabled employees and their employers have different views of the accommodations needed to do their jobs. Fortunately, it’s up to the employer, not the employee, to pick the accommodation. Simply put, the employee isn’t the master of the accommodation—the employer is …

In unemployment comp cases, alcoholism no defense to misconduct discharge

01/01/2008

Alcoholism may be a disability under the ADA and a serious health condition under the FMLA, but that doesn’t mean employers have to tolerate employees who come to work drunk. In fact, being under the influence at work can be misconduct, disqualifying the employee from getting unemployment payments …

Workers’ comp rates look sunny

01/01/2008

Workers’ comp rates will drop 18.4% next year, the fifth consecutive decrease since Florida’s system was overhauled in 2003 …

How to comply with Florida’s Drug-Free Workplace program

01/01/2008

Employers participating in Florida’s Drug-Free Workplace (DFW) program must be careful to follow its strict guidelines or risk incurring workers’ compensation benefit liability. In exchange for lower workers’ compensation premiums, Florida employers can agree to adopt the DFW program …

Any negative comments about work injury may lead to lawsuit

01/01/2008

It’s frustrating when an employee you don’t think is seriously injured files a workers’ compensation claim, especially months after the alleged injury. However, you must resist the temptation to react negatively—for example, by bad-mouthing the employee …

No simultaneous challenges in state and federal courts for workers’ comp cases

01/01/2008

A recent federal trial court decision means employees can’t sue to challenge the constitutionality of a Michigan workers’ compensation ruling in both state and federal courts. That’s good news for employers that now won’t have to fight it out in both courts at the same time …

Is it time to encourage employees to shop for own health insurance?

01/01/2008

If employee health care costs are hitting your organization hard, consider a tactic increasingly used by employers: Encourage workers to shop for alternative insurance plans on the private market …

Caught on camera! Public employers can snoop on employees during fraud probes

01/01/2008

California has a tough statute that protects celebrities against the paparazzi. But California law doesn’t necessarily shield the privacy of public employees. Government agencies can order and conduct intrusive investigations if they suspect public employees are committing workers’ comp and benefits fraud …