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Compensation & Benefits

401(k) participation hints at employees’ longevity

09/01/2006

If you’re wondering whether a new employee will stick around, look at whether he or she signed up for your retirement plan. A new study confirms that employees who forgo employers’ retirement plans also tend to change jobs frequently …

New pension law creates extra duties, questions for HR

09/01/2006

Even though some provisions of the new landmark pension law don’t take effect for 16 months, HR professionals need to start educating themselves immediately. The changes amount to the most sweeping reforms of pension law in more than 30 years …

Clerical tasks don’t defeat administrative exemption

09/01/2006

Here’s one more reason to double-check your job descriptions: Some exempt employees may try to claim they’re entitled to overtime pay simply because they spend a fair amount of time on filing and typing …

Understanding religious accommodations in Pennsylvania workplaces

09/01/2006

Pennsylvania mirrors America’s growing diversity in many ways. Today, mosques occupy old churches; co-workers wear burqas and yarmulkes; and some employees request "prayer breaks." Religious diversity is a reason for celebration in a pluralistic society, but it also presents challenges in the workplace …

Must you pay employees for the commute? Sometimes, yes

09/01/2006

If you think you don’t have to start paying hourly employees until they arrive at the official job site, think again. While it’s true that you don’t normally need to compensate employees for their home-to-work commute, you might have to pay for the travel time if you impose restrictions on that commute or require them to stop along the way …

Rein in Rogue ‘Early-Clockers’

09/01/2006

Q. We’ve repeatedly warned a part-time employee about clocking in earlier than he’s supposed to, sometimes more than an hour early. We know that we have to pay him for any hours worked, but what can we legally do to get him to work only the hours set for his position? —L.K., Missouri

Housing grants help employees reduce their commutes

09/01/2006

While some Baltimore residents suffer through a one- or two-hour commute every morning, employees at Johns Hopkins University are sleeping a little later. Since the university began participating in Baltimore’s "Live Near Your Work" program in 1998, about 220 employees have received $2,000 grants to buy homes close to the university’s three campuses …

Help parents navigate the college application process

09/01/2006

Fred C. Church Insurance in Lowell, Mass., offers child care assistance for its young parents and retirement-planning advice for older employers. But it lacked benefits for workers with teenage children … Solution: The 130-employee company added a benefit that gives employees access to counselors who specialize in the college-application process …

Court ruling may discourage jobs for the financially troubled

09/01/2006

A new ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes Texas) may encourage people who file Chapter 7 bankruptcy to remain unemployed until the court finalizes their bankruptcy …

You can’t push contract-Breach case to federal court

08/01/2006

If you’re a Texas employer that agrees to settle an on-the-job injury case out of court, be prepared to follow through. If you don’t, you just may find your organization in a less favorable Texas court defending itself against breach-of-contract claims. And that can mean a big, fat award from an angry Texas jury …