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Compensation & Benefits

Paying for driving time depends on departure point

06/01/2006

Q. We have a sports reporter (an hourly employee) who is being sent to cover a state tournament. Should we pay for the time it takes her to drive to the event and back? —D.L., Washington

Low-Cost Summer Camp Help

06/01/2006

The HR department at AstraZeneca’s U.S. headquarters helps employees who are parents line up summer camps for their kids by hosting a “camp fair” every spring …

Solving Day-Care Dilemmas

06/01/2006

When they heard rumblings from staff that finding reliable and affordable in-home infant and child care was becoming more difficult all the time, the benefits and work/life pros at the University of Washington in Seattle started working on a solution …

Trim health insurance costs by identifying duplicate coverage

05/01/2006

If you’re not doing so already, take steps to discourage employees and dependents from holding duplicate health coverage …

Boost health screening turnout with mix of carrots, sticks

05/01/2006

More employers are turning to incentives and penalties to increase participation in on-site health-risk assessments. Attracting employees to this first step can improve their health, which cuts your costs. Use the advice below to choose the best approach for your organization …

Cut costs on duplicate health coverage

05/01/2006

If you’re not doing so already, take steps to discourage employees and dependents from holding duplicate health coverage. Example: Ford Motor Co. now requires employees to pay extra toward their health premiums if their covered spouses have duplicate health coverage …

Workplace abuse trickles down from the top

05/01/2006

Supervisors engage in more abuse of their staffers when they believe the overall organization makes unfair decisions, according to a new study in Personnel Psychology …

How Long to Tolerate a ‘Disappearing’ Employee?

05/01/2006

Q. We’re a small business with eight employees. One employee frequently takes off for six to eight weeks with medical problems. She’s done this each year for the past three years. It’s a huge burden because very few people have her training, so we can’t hire a temp. How long do we have to allow her to disappear for months at a time? —M.S., Ohio

FMLA users can shop around for favorable medical opinion

05/01/2006

When an employee shows you a medical certification that says she has a serious condition qualifying her for FMLA leave, you don’t have to blindly accept the doctor’s word. You can ask for a second opinion. But here’s what many employers don’t realize: Employees can do the same thing …

Jobs Need to be ‘Substantially Equal,’ Not Identical, to Demand Same Pay

05/01/2006

Some employers wrongly believe that they’re not vulnerable to a federal Equal Pay Act claim when the two jobs in question aren’t identical. But female employees don’t need to meet such a high standard to bring their equal-pay claim to court …