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Voluntary Benefits: Now May Be Right Time to Implement, Educate

For Holly Monroe, open enrollment and an increase in cardiovascular activity came at the same time each year. When she spotted the representatives from her employer’s voluntary insurance plans, she says, she always took to her heels. “I was one of those people who would run from the insurance people,” she freely admits. Monroe has […]

On-Site Medical Offices, Wellness Initiatives Promote a Culture of Health

Who: W.R. Grace & Co. What: Offers on-site medical offices and promotes wellness Results: Lower absenteeism and lower incidence of seasonal flu. Lower turnover and lower heath insurance costs. Increased personal and team productivity. W.R. Grace & Co. not only promotes the benefits of wellness to its 5,900 employees globally, the company makes it easy […]

CEO of Penny’s Receives 48% Pay Increase in 2010

Myron Ullman III, CEO and Chairman of J.C. Penney, received a total compensation package worth $12.3 million dollars in 2010, a 48% increase from last year, according to the Associated Press.   Bloomberg Businessweek reports that while Ullman’s base salary of $1.5 million remained unchanged from 2009, his other benefits far outweighed those of last year. […]

Microsoft to Boost Cash Compensation

Microsoft has announced plans to shift stock awards into the base salaries for its most valuable workers, proving more cash up front, says Bloomberg. This comes amid news of increasingly competitive compensation practices in the technology sector, with Google, Twitter, and and Facebook camps looking to attract…and keep the best engineers and computer scientists. Some […]

Employment Tax Gap Needs Some Trimming, Says IRS

There’s a gap between the amount companies and employees pay in employment taxes, and the amount they should be paying. And guess what? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is determined to narrow that gap. Much like going on a diet, the way they plan to shrink it will probably be uncomfortable for many American companies. […]

Still a Disaster, Thankfully

Litigation Value: minimum $250,000 if Dwight gets the job. C’mon, let’s be honest. You watched the season finale of The Office for the same reason that millions of fans watch NASCAR. You knew a pile-up was coming. And you kind of hoped the crash would be fantastically terrible — so long as no one was […]

Asking the Right Questions

Before I headed to the airport today, the president of our company, Bob Brady, handed me a book and said something like, “This is a quick read and I really think you’ll enjoy it.” The book he gave me was The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, […]

Exit Interviews: An Underused Tool for Protecting Your Company

HR professionals are frequently asked to do more with less. Moreover, these are challenging times, with companies facing increased employment litigation but having fewer resources for programs to strengthen the quality and longevity of the workforce. Exit interviews represent an effective and inexpensive, albeit little-used, tool for spotting and fixing problems before they turn into […]

Religious Accommodation Requests—Deal Delicately, But Deal

Requests for accommodation on religious grounds are often tricky—What’s a belief? What’s a religion?—but they‘re going to come up and you’ve got to deal with them. Attorney Regina Petty has tips. Petty offers the following suggestions to help employers reduce the risk they will be accused of refusing to accommodate a sincerely held religious belief […]