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.

Remember the Titans: Lessons for Football—and for Management

Oswald, CEO of BLR®, offered his takeaways from Remember the Titans in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. Here’s what he says: The other night I walked in the door to find my youngest son watching the movie Remember the Titans. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know I consider the […]

5 Laws that Job Descriptions Can Violate

What Laws Are Involved? A number of laws and regulations are involved as you complete your job descriptions and work with them, says Kennedy, including: Fair Labor Standards Act (proper classification as exempt or nonexempt) Equal Pay Act of 1963 (comparing job values, pay values, and gender) Equal Employment Opportunity (comparing pay levels and protected […]

Performance Problem—Blame the Job Description?

Well-written and effectively developed job descriptions are communication tools that allow both employees and candidates to clearly understand the expectations of the role, its essential duties, competencies, and responsibilities, along with the required educational credentials and experience, says Kennedy. Kennedy is the principal consultant of MAKHR Consulting, LLC, and author of the career coaching book […]

Employers Face Another End to QTFB Parity

Unless Congress acts soon, employees will once again have less to use for mass transit expenses under qualified transportation fringe benefit plans, and employers will once again have to lower the limits they allow under QTFBs at the end of the year. The mass transit component of QTFBs, which covers expenses incurred in commuting to […]

DOL’s New Disability-Based Affirmative Action Requirements

In addition to the major changes discussed in yesterday’s Advisor, there are several other important changes that are included in the final Section 503 rule, says Schoenfeld. Definitions The definition of “disability” has been revised, pursuant to the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008. EO Clause Contractors will be required to state in solicitations and […]

Employers Must Answer Questions About Revenue Sharing in Their 401(k)s

By Mary Jo Larson    Nearly every 401(k) plan offers its participants some investment options that include revenue-sharing fee payments. For many years, employers were not even aware that their participants’ investments were generating these payments. Today, in the wake of new U.S. Department of Labor disclosure and reporting rules and well-publicized cases attacking employers for […]

Hiring Goals for Individuals Disabilities—New Affirmative Action Requirement

The changes are to the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities. BLR Senior Legal Editor and affirmative action expert Susan Schoenfeld explains how the new regulations will impact government contractors. Effective Date in March 2014 According to the OFCCP, the new rules will […]

New Business Bumper Sticker: I ♥ My Millennials

The Enthusiastic Employee Debunks Generational Characteristics And that’s not just my opinion. In their recently published second edition of The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want (The Enthusiastic Employee), David Sirota and Douglas Klein debunk the popular generational differences theories.   They say that descriptions of the various generations in […]

Government Shutdown Accord Doesn’t Change Obamacare Much

A bipartisan accord to fund the federal government until Jan. 15 and raise the government’s debt ceiling until Feb. 7, was reached by leaders in the U.S. Senate on Oct. 16, but the final agreement did virtually nothing to change the health care reform law. The only part of the compromise affecting health care reform […]

Engagement and Enablement—Keys to Comp Effectiveness

McMullen is Reward Practice Leader for Hay Group in Chicago. He was joined by Dow Scott, Professor of Human Resources in the Quinlan School of Business Administration at Loyola University Chicago and president of Performance Development International, a management consulting firm. Their remarks came at the WorldatWork conference in Philadelphia. McMullen offers the following “equation” […]