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Compensation & Benefits

Who pays the tax on gift cards given to employees?

03/01/2006

Q. We plan to give gasoline gift cards to employees as incentives for picking up additional shifts. Are these cards taxable? Can we, the employer, simply pay the employee’s portion of the taxes? —T.M., Pennsylvania

More States Push Workplace Conscientious-Objector Laws

03/01/2006

State legislatures in about 20 states are actively considering legislation that would provide new legal protections to health care employees who refuse to provide care that conflicts with their personal beliefs …

EAP phone therapy is legit, but choose vendors wisely

03/01/2006

EAP-provided telephone counseling is controversial but becoming more common. Still, quality varies among vendors. Screen potential teletherapy providers carefully using the following six questions …

Medication may limit employees’ FMLA reinstatement rights

03/01/2006

What happens if an employee tries to return to work after FMLA leave but isn’t quite recovered? In that case, you can turn the employee away if he or she can’t perform the job’s essential functions. That scenario often plays out when the returning employee’s job involves operating machinery or driving and the person must take medication …

Can you deduct overtime from bank of FMLA hours?

03/01/2006

Q. Can an employer deduct or count overtime hours from an employee’s FMLA balance? Our employees work overtime only from October through December. During that time, they’re required to work 12-hour days, seven days a week. We have several employees on both continuous FMLA and intermittent leave, and we’d like to deduct the overtime hours they would have worked from their FMLA allotment. What do you think? —J.A., Nebraska

Fitness-for-Duty Letters Trigger Instant Reinstatement

03/01/2006

Must you allow an employee to return after FMLA leave if you don’t think she’s physically ready? She could injure herself if she returns. But if you block her return, you could face a failure-to-reinstate FMLA lawsuit. Begin the return-to-work process earlier to see if she still has the ability to perform the job’s essential functions …

Lesson of IBM overtime suit: Clarify exemption status

03/01/2006

IBM faces the possibility of multimillion-dollar legal damages if a court grants class-action status to a pending FLSA lawsuit …

12 Real-Life Employee Appreciation Strategies That Work

03/01/2006

March 10 is Employee Appreciation Day, but you can show your gratitude throughout the year. Studies show that employees who feel valued are more likely to stay … Choose your favorite ideas from among these real-life suggestions …

Steer Clear of ‘Take It or Leave It’ Early-Retirement Offers

03/01/2006

If you plan to lay off employees, structure early-retirement offers carefully to avoid age-discrimination lawsuits. In particular, avoid making "take-it or leave-it" offers that force employees to choose between resigning with a severance package or being terminated …

Mandatory Off-Site Counseling Sessions May Be Paid ‘Work Time’

03/01/2006

If you require hourly employees to attend counseling or training workshops outside normal working hours as a condition of employment, you may need to pay employees for those hours. You may also need to pay the employees’ travel time, too …