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Compensation & Benefits

Boost productivity by helping staff with elder care problems

12/01/2006
Issue: Nearly 10 percent of employees serve as caregivers for their elderly parents. That strain results in turnover and productivity problems. Risk: Lost productivity due to elder caregiving costs U.S. …

Can you face legal risk for completing salary surveys?

12/01/2006
To set competitive salaries, you've probably filled out compensation surveys and maybe even managed such surveys yourself. But recent classaction lawsuits have led some HR professionals and business execs to rethink their participation in (or hosting of) such surveys.

Review your severance packages; EEOC tightening scrutiny

12/01/2006

When employers offer severance packages, they often ask employees to waive their rights to sue the employer. That’s a smart strategy, but small discrepancies in the agreement’s wording can make the difference between a successful severance package and a call from the EEOC …

Contesting Unemployment for Drunk Ex-Employee

12/01/2006

Q. We sent an employee home because he came to work clearly intoxicated. The police later picked him up wandering around, and he missed work because he was in jail sobering up. We fired him, and he filed for unemployment. Can we use the police report to challenge his unemployment claim?—R.H. Florida

Release only essential information about a RIF

12/01/2006

When conducting a reduction in force (RIF), it’s vital to handle severance offers carefully. Make sure you don’t needlessly give discharged employees the idea that they can file an age-discrimination lawsuit …

Landmark Same-Sex Ruling May Affect Your Benefits Plan

12/01/2006

Your organization may soon need to revamp some of its employee benefits in light of an important ruling Oct. 25 by the New Jersey Supreme Court. The ruling granted committed same-sex couples the same statutory rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples …

Are you spending too much on employee benefits?

12/01/2006

The U.S. government’s main survey on wages and benefits, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, offers a good quarterly snapshot that can help you benchmark your own pay and perks …

Pennsylvania to offer grants for career advancement

12/01/2006

Pennsylvania is one of eight states set to pilot the U.S. Labor Department’s Career Advancement Accounts, which are personal spending accounts that workers can use to pay for post-secondary education and training …

Pump up your sales force: Focus on time, treasure, talent

12/01/2006

Working long hours doesn’t make a sales staff successful; wisely allocating time does, says a new survey by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt …

Oral promise of extra pay is as binding as contract

12/01/2006

In Georgia, employers that promise to pay a bonus, commission or other extra compensation to employees had better be prepared to follow through. Even though those promises aren’t in writing, employees may be likely to hold you to any supervisor’s spoken promises …