Category: Benefits and Compensation

This topic provides guidance on how to handle compensation issues in a way that attracts and retains the best talent and advances the strategic goals of your business. You get news and tips on what’s going on nationally and in the states, and updates on changes in regulations, possible governmental action, and emerging compensation trends.

healthcare

Implement Innovative, Integrated Practices for Healthcare Cost Savings

A group of best-performing companies has achieved a $2,251 per employee per year (PEPY) healthcare cost advantage over the national average in 2017 ($9,950 compared with $12,201), according to global advisory, broking, and solutions company Willis Towers Watson’s 22nd annual Best Practices in Health Care Employer Survey.

retirement

Financial Wellness: Employers Enhance DC Retirement Plans to Improve Employees’ Financial Security

With concerns mounting that employees aren’t saving enough for retirement, U.S. employers are making significant enhancements to their defined contribution (DC) plans, now considered the main retirement savings vehicle for most working Americans, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory, broking, and solutions company.

pay stub

Pay Stub Headaches: Penalties for Noncompliant Wage Statements Can Add Up

Issuing inaccurate or incomplete itemized wage statements, also known as “pay stubs,” can result in significant liability for employers. California law requires employers to provide specific information in pay stubs and imposes significant penalties on employers that fail to follow those requirements.

vacation

Vacation Pay Lawsuit Takes Excursion to Appellate Court and Back

Winnebago County, Illinois recently attempted to avoid a claim for accrued but unpaid vacation pay under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) by invoking the 1-year statute of limitations in the Illinois Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Read on to learn whether the Tort Immunity Act gives a break to […]

minimum wage

9th Circuit Adopts Workweek as Proper Measure for Minimum Wage Compliance

Following the lead of several other courts of appeals and the long-held position of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington—recently concluded that minimum wage compliance under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is determined by dividing the […]

retirement

Exception to the Rule: Understanding the DOL Fiduciary Rule

In part one of this article, we covered the roles and responsibilities of a plan fiduciary and evaluated the new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule’s impact, even though full implementation has been delayed—extended to July 1, 2019. In this article, we’ll cover the exception to the fiduciary rule, as well as some steps […]

Is Mental Health First Aid Training Necessary?

Health issues can strike anywhere, and when people spend so much of their waking hours at work, the workplace is often the setting for health emergencies. Many companies train employees on basic first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) so that there are people able to assist in such emergencies. But these training programs focus specifically […]