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2014-2015 Pay Budget Survey Results in; How Do You Compare?

Highlights of the survey: 18.2% of respondents are awarding merit increases (averaged across all employee types) of up to 2.5% in 2014 and 46.1% are awarding increases of more than 2.5% 21% of survey participants awarded an increase of 2.51–3% for “Meets requirements” and 12.9% awarded that amount for “Exceeds requirements.” The biggest challenge for […]

Believe It or Not—These People Make a Decent Living Wage!

On Married with Children, Al, the main character, was always complaining that being a shoe salesman was a lousy paying, degrading job. You can’t afford nice things or live in a nice house, and it’s hard to keep up with the Darcys. But imagine working for a shoe store where you actually can afford nice […]

San Francisco ‘ban the box’ ordinance starts August 13

by Andrew J. Sommer and Alka Ramchandani San Francisco’s new “ban the box” law, titled the Fair Chance Ordinance, will limit the timing and scope of inquiries into an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history when it takes effect August 13. In addition to banning inquiries into criminal history on job applications, the ordinance also places […]

May the enforceability of your release be with you

by Hannah Roskey We have all been faced with employees’ buyer’s remorse. They accept a severance package, sign a release, cash the severance check, and then claim that the release is unenforceable. Recently the Alberta Human Rights Commission considered this very issue in Marquardt v. Strathcona County.

OCR Expects Consistency in HIPAA Breach Response

When investigating a breach of IT network security leading to leakage of protected health information, HHS looks for consistency in the covered entity’s response — with both HIPAA rules and the organization’s own written procedures, according to a former official with HHS’ Office for Civil Rights. OCR tends to “expect a perfect assessment done the […]

Federal Contractors’ FMLA Policies Face New Scrutiny from Executive Order

By Peter A. Susser     Federal contractors’ administration of family leave will face unprecedented scrutiny as a result of a new executive order from President Obama. The order requires the disclosure of labor law violations committed by would-be contractors, and a determination of whether that candidate is satisfactorily responsible and ethical. The order is […]

Ruling: Providers Are Not ERISA Beneficiaries

In a decision sharply at odds with a recent Illinois ruling, a federal district court in Arizona held that health care providers cannot be characterized as plan beneficiaries who can sue to compel payment of ERISA benefits. The court rejected the view that a direct payment for services is an ERISA benefit that give providers […]

HR Timewasters—Let’s Find Out What’s Destroying HR Productivity!

Dear Readers, Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and help us (and you) find out what’s happening in the real world of HR management. The survey takes only a few minutes to complete. Complete the Survey Now Compensation.BLR.com, now thoroughly revved with easier navigation and more complete compensation information, will tell you […]

The Gamification of Training

Gamification can help engage learners in training and help them retain information, complete training, and keep their skills current, says Steve Sims, chief design officer for Badgeville and founder of its Behavior Lab. “Gamification” is the application of technology through games and other mechanisms to “tap into motivation and get people to do things,” he […]