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.
More and more, we’re seeing organizations opt to take a stand on social issues. Consumers and employees are doing so as well by participating in boycotts, joining protests, signing petitions, and donating to causes or groups that they feel are in alignment with their values.
Do prospective employees attempt to negotiate their pay or do they simply accept what they are offered? A recent CareerBuilder survey found that the majority of workers (56%) do not negotiate for better pay when they are offered a job.
In an unfavorable opinion for California employers, a California Court of Appeal recently ruled that (1) employees seeking damages in an action arising under Section 226(a) of the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) needn’t sustain any injury to bring the action, (2) the employer’s violations need not be “knowing and intentional” to subject it […]
A new survey conducted among over 20,000 health plans and over 11,000 employers of all sizes-representing over 2.5 million employees—reports that premium renewal rates for employer sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.6% in 2017. According to the 2017 United Benefit Advisors (UBA) Health Plan Survey, this is a significant increase over the previous […]
Retirement plan compliance priorities for Fiscal Year 2018 released September 28 by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicated the agency’s Employee Plans (EP) unit will emphasize analyzing plan failure trends, refine outreach, and other communications about noncompliance, and enhance its knowledge management program. In an era of doing more with less, the IRS has shifted […]
The maximum wage base for Social Security tax will be $128,400 in 2018, up from $127,200 in 2017, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) announced. (Note: The original 2018 wage base announced on October 13 was $128,700; this amount was revised by the SSA in late November.)
Over six out of 10 (63%) employees with employer-sponsored insurance say they are concerned this open enrollment season about their plans’ out-of-pocket medical costs increasing in 2018, according to a new survey. The research also gleaned employees’ attitudes towards the enrollment process.
Compensation planning can be a very time consuming task. It’s vital to attracting and retaining qualified talent, but can be a bit less cumbersome when managed with a practical approach.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on October 16 announced a pilot program to offer mediation in some Termination Liability Collection and Early Warning Program (EWP) cases. PBGC’s Pilot Mediation Project will allow parties to resolve cases with the assistance of an independent dispute resolution professional.
The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota—recently reversed an Arkansas district court’s dismissal of a former employee’s retaliation claim against a grain company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and the Arkansas Civil Rights Act.