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bad performance

FMLA Training Scenario: Performance Issues Discovered During Leave

Here we present a leave-related workplace scenario—inspired by an actual court case—that’s intended to help HR professionals better understand an employer’s responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  In this scenario, when an employee went on leave, her coworkers learned that she was not executing important administrative tasks related to her position.  Based […]

Best Practices in Employee Wellness Wearables

Wearable devices like activity trackers have shown the potential to enhance employee participation in wellness programs, but getting the most out of a device requires more than simply asking employees to use it, a recent study found.

Are Recruiters Having the Time of Their Lives?

Yesterday we heard the first two of three reasons why recruiters seem to have broken through recent difficulties recruiting by Karyn Mullins, Executive Vice President and General Manager at MedReps.com. Today we’ll hear her final point.

Retail

Are There Any More Jobs Left … for Humans?

Automation is becoming a major trend in the HR world, with some researchers claiming HR will be fully automated in 5 years, and others claiming a majority of HR professionals will be automating tasks as early as 2019. If these estimates are correct, will the human in Human Resources be out of a job in […]

Massachusetts

Out to Lunch? Maybe Not, in Massachusetts . . .

Most Massachusetts employers are required by law to provide “meal breaks” for their employees. However, in many industries, it isn’t always feasible for employees to leave the premises during lunch or even to stop working while they’re eating. If employees work through their meal breaks, must they be paid for that time? What if they […]

Wellness programs

IRS Warns Against Using Wellness Incentives to Skirt Employment Taxes

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking to discourage arrangements in which employees can obtain large wellness incentive payments in exchange for a relatively minor after-tax contribution. Contrary to their promoters’ claims, these setups cannot enable employers to finance wellness incentives solely by reducing their employment tax liability, the IRS warned.

Defined benefit retirement plan

PBGC Removes Change in Credit Quality as Possible Trigger for Early Warning Program Review

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in early May clarified guidance issued in late 2016 about its Early Warning Program (EWP), explaining that the program had not been expanded and such a review for an employer’s defined benefit (DB) retirement plan would not be triggered solely by a change in credit quality.