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.

401K

Tax-Reform Changes Lead Some Employers to Raise 401(K) Matches

A handful of large U.S. corporations announced they are raising the employer match for their 401(k) retirement plans or are making other changes in their benefit plans in the first month after a tax reform law was signed by President Trump. And nearly half of companies surveyed said they are considering taking such an action […]

HIPAA

Repeated Breaches Result in $3.5M HIPAA Settlement

A major renal care provider agreed to $3.5 million to resolve Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security allegations arising from a series of data breaches at five different facilities over a 5-month span in 2012.

Are Unpaid Internships Now Acceptable?

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently updated its internship fact sheet, in effect changing the guidelines for internships. The move has prompted many employers to wonder: Do we still have to pay interns?

compensation

$608 in Unpaid Overtime Cost Texas Employer $41,333 in Attorneys’ Fees

By the way, the amount of attorneys’ fees in the headline is not the amount the employer paid its lawyers. Oh, no—that’s the amount it had to pay the employee’s lawyers for suing to recover the $608 in unpaid overtime. To make the disparity even stranger, the employee lost two of his three claims at […]

Vision Benefits Survey Findings Underscore Need to Educate Younger Employees

A new survey has found that younger employees are significantly less likely to enroll in vision benefits plans or understand the importance of eye exams.  The Transitions Optical Employee Perceptions of Vision Benefits survey, conducted among 1,300 employees, reveals that 84% of Baby Boomers, 80% of Gen X and 75% of Millennials report that they […]