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Compensation & Benefits

ERISA: Monitor compliance to avoid legal challenges

01/01/2004
THE LAW. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) governs the administration of private employers’ employee benefit plans and the rights of plan beneficiaries. Congress passed the law in …

Your cost-saving plan of the year: Health Savings Accounts

01/01/2004
Issue: The new Medicare law allows employees to set up tax-free savings accounts to cover uninsured medical costs. Benefit: Setting up HSAs for employees could allow you to offer them …

Act quickly to bring back injured employees

01/01/2004
Issue: The longer an employee stays out on workers’ comp, the less likely he or she is to return to work. Risk: Higher workers’ comp and associated medical costs; plus …

Insurance: Steer clear of negligence claims

01/01/2004
Make sure you keep your insurance payments up to date. If you let your policy lapse and an employee files a claim, you open up yourself …

When does COBRA apply?

01/01/2004

Q. Our business has 14 employees, and we pay 100 percent of their health insurance costs. One employee is out on workers’ comp. Are we required to continue paying his health insurance, or can we offer him COBRA? —P.F., Delaware

4 Tips for Choosing a Long-Term Care Insurance Plan

01/01/2004

Long-term care (LTC) insurance can offer a low-cost way to upgrade employee benefits. The benefits: reduced absenteeism due to employee caregiving duties and  tax benefits for some employers. Use these four strategies to decide whether sponsoring an LTC insurance plan makes sense for your organization …

Back problems top workplace disability claim

01/01/2004

Want to know where to focus your health-prevention dollars? Concentrate on the ailments that are costing your organization the most money in employee absences, decreased productivity and increased health care costs …

Don’t expect employees on FMLA leave to stay in bed

01/01/2004
Issue: Make sure you’re in the right before punishing people for ‘misusing’ FMLA leave. Risk: Tons in legal fees defending an arbitrary decision. Action: Make it clear to employees …

Labor readies final overtime rule; Congress steps out of the way

01/01/2004
Opponents in Congress recently dropped their opposition to the Labor Department’s proposed rules that redefine which employees qualify for overtime pay.
That clears the way for Labor to release the …

Reverse age bias is rarely an issue with early retirees

01/01/2004

Q. Are there any specific rules defining “early out” retirement packages offered to employees? Our company is planning to offer early outs. Our criteria mandate that an employee must have worked 15 years and be at least 50 years old. But we have employees who have worked as long as 28 years, but fail to meet the 50-year-old criterion. Is this age discrimination in a reverse sort of way? —T.G., Florida