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.

Payroll Issues During Blizzards and Snow Days

As we head into the heart of the winter storm season, it is inevitable that employers could face some severe snowstorms and blizzards in February. Hence, this is an excellent time to brush up on the wage and hour laws, which dictate whether you are required to pay salary or hourly wages to employees who are unable to get to work during a blizzard or severe snowstorm. Here is a timely refresher article on these issues.

gender gap

DOL Sues Oracle for Pay Discrimination; Company Says Claims are ‘Political’

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has alleged in a lawsuit that tech company Oracle discriminates against employees and applicants on the basis of race and sex. Oracle has millions of dollars in government contracts, according to court documents, and the suit asks a judge to cancel those contracts and permanently bar the company from […]

Kentucky

Unemployment: Termination After Exhaustion of FMLA Leave Deemed ‘Voluntary Quit’

The Kentucky Court of Appeals recently upheld the denial of unemployment benefits to an employee who had exhausted his leave entitlement under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and was unable to return to work. The court upheld the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission’s (KUIC) determination that those circumstances constitute “quitting” employment without “good cause.”

mental health

DOL Highlights Growth in MHPAEA Enforcement

The year 2016 was a banner year for mental health parity enforcement, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported. The agency’s growing efforts to bring group health plans into line with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) were summarized in a recent DOL release.

Did California Concrete Company Fail to Provide Off-Duty Meal Periods?

by Cathleen S. Yonahara, Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP Complying with California laws applicable to meal periods is complicated. In a recent case, a trial court found that although the employer’s on-duty meal period agreement was invalid, its drivers weren’t forced to sign the agreement or miss off-duty meal periods against their will. This article […]

retirement

DOL: Lifetime Income Can Be Part of Prudent QDIA

by Jane Meacham, Contributing Editor The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), in late December 2016, issued an information letter that indicated employer plan sponsors are entitled to use lifetime income products as a part of a prudent qualified default investment alternative (QDIA), even if the products contain certain liquidity and transferability restrictions.

‘On-Call’ and ‘Call-In’ Work Schedules: Advantages and Disadvantages for Employers (Video)

What are the benefits for employers for instituting variable work schedules for their employees such as call-in shifts and on-call status?  How do these schedules work?  Who uses them?  And why have some major employers recently abandoned such practices? Speaking to an audience of HR professionals and employers at BLR’s Advanced Employment Law Symposium (AEIS), […]

DOL Fiduciary Rule 101

Did you know that under existing laws, the person or organization who manages your company’s 401(k) is not legally obligated to provide advice that is in the best interest of the investor? If that seems crazy to you, then it perhaps will come as no surprise that this is about to be changed with the […]