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

Compensation & Benefits

Wal-Mart bias case will give employees bad ideas

08/01/2004
Now would be a good time to review your organization’s hiring, firing, promotion and pay policies for any hint of gender-based differences. Reason: The big Wal-Mart sex discrimination lawsuit that hit …

Draw staff to your intranet (not your door) for HR basics

07/01/2004
Issue: Your intranet is packed with valuable HR information, but few employees are using it. Benefit: If employees see the intranet, not your office, as the first stop for HR …

Choose bonus pay method and stick with it

07/01/2004

Q. Our company pays monthly bonuses to hourly employees based on the previous month’s performance. When calculating overtime, should the bonus pay be included only for the weekly payroll that contains those bonuses, or does it change the overtime rate for other weekly pay periods, as well? —A.A., Tennessee

You’ll have more time to revamp COBRA notices

07/01/2004
You and your health plan administrator will soon need to provide more specifics on COBRA rights to departing employees, according to final rules published recently by the U.S. Labor Department. The …

Surprise! Off-duty horseplay can qualify as ‘work time’

07/01/2004
Issue: Your broad liability for workers’ comp injuries. Risk: If supervisors exert control over employees outside the workplace, your organization could be liable for resulting injuries. Action: Alert supervisors …

To cut health costs, weed out ineligible dependents

07/01/2004
Is your health plan covering employees’ adult children, ex-spouses or other relatives? If you don’t know the answer, it may be time for a health plan “participant audit” to help weed …

Prepare to revamp COBRA notices

07/01/2004
The U.S. Labor Department just published final rules that set new minimum standards for the timing and content of COBRA continuing health insurance notices. The rules, which come with sample notices …

Why you should care about 9/11 Commission report

07/01/2004
The federal panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks says the private sector is still unprepared for attacks. It’s expected to endorse a national emergency readiness standard that calls on …

You don’t have to accept after-the-fact proof of FMLA leave

07/01/2004
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires workers to give their employers notice of their need for leave. But you have the right to deny leave when the provided information …

You can set rules on when employees take vacation time

07/01/2004
While vacation time is a mainstay of basic benefit packages, employers are not legally required to offer paid vacation to employees. But if you do offer vacation time, don’t be afraid …