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Compensation & Benefits

You can’t make employees contribute to charity

12/01/2003

Q. Is it legal for us to strongly encourage our employees to have money withheld from their paychecks to support a charity drive, like the United Way? —L.M., Texas

Don’t discriminate against short people

12/01/2003
A well-publicized study could raise skepticism (and, potentially, legal complaints) by short people about your pay practices. The study, to be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, found that, in …

Don’t try to ‘explain away’ overtime errors

12/01/2003
Counsel your managers to treat overtime complaints with respect, and avoid any cavalier statements or excuses about why someone hasn’t been paid overtime. Reason: You face big risks by making such …

Schools aren’t exempt from wage-and-Hour laws

12/01/2003

Q. At our university, the special-events supervisors must occasionally hire people. We currently don’t pay for their time involved in interviewing job candidates. I think we should pay them for that time, but I was told education institutions are exempt from pay laws. Is that true? —D.D., West Virginia

Employees comparing pay? Don’t try to muzzle them

12/01/2003
Issue: About a third of all organizations prohibit employees from discussing pay with one another. Risk: Such confidentiality policies likely violate …

Enlist employees’ help to win the health-cost battle

11/01/2003
Issue: Strong communication with employees is a vital part of controlling health care insurance costs.
Benefit: Employees who understand the forces driving up their premiums are more likely to play …

Outsource strategically; don’t follow the crowd

11/01/2003
Issue: More organizations are jumping into outsourcing, but many aren’t impressed with the results. Risk: Farming out the wrong functions can actually lower HR efficiency. Action: Determine which functions …

Brush up on dental benefits: DR plans growing

11/01/2003
Issue: Direct reimbursement (DR) dental plans are becoming more popular.
Benefit: DR plans can slash your dental-plan admin costs. You can even eliminate the middleman …

Spice up your holiday party, but contain costs

11/01/2003
Does it fall on you to help organize the holiday party? If so, shake things up this year by changing the venue, possibly to a skating rink or a boat. Approach …

Prevent new-hire no-shows

11/01/2003
As the job market heats up, more applicants will accept jobs and then back out at the last minute, or simply fail to show up on Day 1. Midlevel sales, financial …