Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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.
I had a conversation about Christmas the other day with my 15-year-old son, Oswald says. We were talking about the gifts he might like to get when our conversation turned to things he’d like to do. Might he prefer tickets to a concert or a ballgame instead of a new iPod or video game? The […]
A mandatory uniform standard for health plans to pay claims electronically was adopted in rules issued Jan. 5 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The rules are designed to help health care providers match payments received with the “remittance advice” transactions that plans are already sending them under an existing HHS […]
A recent court case highlights two crucial issues in administering COBRA continuation coverage: (1) a plan administrator has the sole legal obligation to prove compliance with COBRA’s notice rules — it cannot pass the buck to third-party administrators; and (2) lack of sufficient evidence on COBRA notice procedures can be a costly mistake. Recently, an […]
West, principal at Employment Practices Specialists in Pacifica, California, offered her suggestions at SHRM’s annual conference and exhibition, held recently in Las Vegas. Here are her six scary phrases: 1. ‘You’re overcommitted’ When you say this, the applicant will hear: “Has kids and won’t stay late.” Sounds like discrimination. 2. ‘You lack skills necessary to […]
Employment law attorneys aren’t allowed to say “document,” West says; they are always required to say “document, document, document.” There’s a good reason for using the famous three words, she adds, because documentation is that important: It gives you credibility It’s how you show the world that you did what you say you did It […]
An important component of health reform implementation is the imposition of an “essential benefits” package (of health goods and services that insurers of groups and individuals must cover). Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), that benefit package will be de rigueur (1) for policies sold on exchanges and (2) insurers of small […]
“Paying to market” and “Four years of freezes” are the biggest issues for many respondents to a recent survey conducted by the HRhero division of BLR last December. Other responses to the question, What do you think your organization’s biggest wage-related issue will be at the end of 2012? included: A sad one: “We’re just […]
Employers — and employees — may find wellness benefits an even more welcome offering, a recent study suggests. A Quest Diagnostics study found that more than 1 out of 3 employees who took employer-sponsored lab-based wellness tests were unaware they were at high risk for a serious medical condition. The study, Value of Laboratory Tests […]
EEOC is coming after anyone not using a unique interactive process, says attorney Stacie Caraway. They want to see one-on-one engagement. Caraway, of counsel with Miller & Martin in Chattanooga, Tennessee, joined Dinita James, partner with Ford & Harrison in Phoeniz, Arizona, and moderator Charles Plumb, a partner with McAfee and Taft in Tulsa, Oklahoma, […]
‘I Can’t Live on What You’re Paying Me’ Conversations In a previous Advisor, we covered the basics of dealing with tough compensation questions. Today, more tough questions from a recent BLR webinar featuring Teresa Murphy and David Wudyka. Wage and Hour Mythbusters Wage and hour should be the easiest job in comp, but there are […]