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.

Gender Pay Gap? Readers Respond … and How

And some men think the pay gap discriminates against men, not women. Here are the comments (boldface is ours): What about the pay gap between men and women holding the same position, such as happened to Lily Ledbetter? It’s not just a matter of women not seeking out the highest paying jobs–those who do often […]

Pregnant Employees? What the FMLA Requires

The PDA applies regardless of how long an employee has worked for you. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), however, has stricter eligibility requirements but also offer more potential benefits. For example, the FMLA applies to new fathers as well as mothers. To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for […]

Pregnancy Discrimination—What to Expect When Your Employee Is Expecting

“All pregnant employees should stop work 30 days before their due dates.” “Pregnant women should stay out 6 weeks after the birth.” “I’m not hiring a pregnant applicant—she’ll just go on leave the day I get her trained.” “Pregnant women shouldn’t be working after the baby comes.” These ideas are out there, but they’re all […]

Wal-Mart Steers Workers to Selected Providers for Big-ticket Medical Procedures

Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, is getting in on the concept of “Centers of excellence,” a method of steering referrals to providers who perform more efficiently in a bid to bend the health cost curve. With the generous coverage, the company creates good press and may counter its reputation as being skimpy on workers’ benefits. […]

How Does Your HRIS Measure Up? Checklist

Here are recommended items to check to see if your HRIS is up to the mark. (It’s just as useful for those considering HRIS). Records Maintained Does your system maintain the following personnel records: Employee personal data? Marital status?  Number of dependents?  Spouses and dependents covered by other health plans?  Part-time/fulltime?  Leased employees?  Employees’ skills?  […]

Who’s Using HRIS? Whose Are They Using? Survey Says …

In June 2012, BLR’s HRIS expert, Holly Jones, surveyed BLR customers on their HRIS use. An audio conference download was offered as premium for survey completion. Just under 600 HR Daily Advisor and HR Hero Line readers responded. According to Jones, important findings included: About half of respondents use an HRIS system and about half […]

Working Mom Calls Foul Against NBA in Bias Lawsuit

A former senior account manager has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the National Basketball Association, Inc., alleging that the NBA “pays lip service to gender equality” and is “openly hostile to working mothers.” In the lawsuit, Brynn Cohn claims that the NBA instituted a change in work schedule while she was on maternity leave […]

Health Plans Can Expect Cost Reductions by Bundling Payments, AHRQ Indicates

Health plans and insurers long have been thinking of ways to compensate providers not for volume of care, but for value of care, as an important tool in curbing runaway health inflation. Research over the last two decades recently compiled and reviewed by the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality shows consistent reductions in what […]

Managing Default Options Is a Crucial Plan Sponsor Role, Study Says

With an ever-increasing number of private-sector retirement plan participants relying on automatic enrollment and the investment choices their employers select, the best way for plan sponsors to help these workers achieve a secure retirement is to choose and manage their default options well, a new survey suggests. The defined contribution investments unit of money manager […]