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Compensation & Benefits

5 ways to keep good people as the job market improves

03/01/2004
Issue: Retaining the best employees should be a high priority for your organization as the economy picks up. Benefits: Reduces recruitment and retraining …

Domestic-partner benefits: Don’t fear cost, controversy

03/01/2004
Issue: More employers are offering domestic-partner benefits to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Benefit/risk: Such benefits can provide a good recruiting tool, but thorny legal and tax issues must be …

Shelter yourself from gathering storm of ERISA claims

03/01/2004
Issue: Spurred by corporate retirement-fund scandals, the federal government is stepping up its monitoring of benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Risk: In 2003, …

Max out results from your employee-referral program

03/01/2004
Issue: Imaginative cash rewards are the key to successful employee-referral programs. Benefit: Employees hired through employee referrals have higher retention rates. Action: Read below to gauge whether your rewards …

Worker’s on-duty errand can spark liability

03/01/2004
Your organization is typically liable for injuries caused by employees when they’re “acting within the scope of employment.” You aren’t liable when employees cause injuries on their own free time. But …

Not complying with new COBRA notice rules yet? Don’t panic

03/01/2004
The U.S. Labor Department published new rules last year saying that companies offering health insurance must give employees more specifics on their rights to COBRA continuing health coverage.
The rules …

Use caution in firing employee after On-the-Job injury

03/01/2004

Q. An employee in our plant was directed by a replacement line supervisor to use a machine that he wasn’t trained to operate. The employee stuck his hand into the machine to clear a jam and was injured. The plant supervisor fired the employee while he was still in the hospital for operating machinery he hadn’t been trained on. Does the employee have a right to sue us if he was actually ordered by the line supervisor to do this job? —K.C.

Your ‘so-so’ employee is on leave; can you keep his replacement?

03/01/2004
It’s not uncommon to realize that employees on Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave aren’t as productive as their temporary replacements. That puts you in the sticky situation of wishing you …

‘Willful’ violation can extend employees’ time to file FMLA suit

03/01/2004
Typically, employees can file Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuits no later than two years after the alleged violation. But if a worker can prove that your organization “willfully” violated …

Avoid arbitrary policy on reinstating job titles

03/01/2004

Q. An assistant manager has been out on disability leave for four months, and she’s requested another two months. I want to eliminate the position. How long do I have to keep the position closed before reactivating the job title and responsibilities? —K.J., Mississippi