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.

If Employees Are Stiff and Stressed, Exercise at Work Can Help

With the new year, many people are enthusiastic about New Year’s resolutions, and often those intentions center on fitness and wellness goals. That may be especially true this year as the pandemic drags on. The stress, isolation, and disruption brought on by COVID takes a toll on employees’ mental and physical health and is getting […]

Is COVID-19 a Disability Under the ADA? It Depends

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released guidance regarding whether COVID-19 is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, an employer cannot take an adverse employment action against an individual because of a disability, which is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The […]

Working Parents Face Increased Financial Stress and Inadequate Benefits

The much-discussed Great Resignation has forced a refocusing in the conversation surrounding the needs of hourly workers. Faced with labor shortages, many employers are reassessing how their workers are treated, from hourly wage increases to financial incentives like signing bonuses, down to the benefits offered to hourly employees. For the most financially precarious, however, the […]

Retirement Plan Fiduciaries Must Wisely Consider All Investment Options

Retirement plan fiduciaries have a duty to monitor investment options continuously and remove all imprudent ones, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) recently ruled in a much-anticipated decision. In the opinion, the Court made it clear the fiduciaries can’t ignore imprudent investment options in 401(k)s or other retirement plans even if other, prudent choices are […]

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Debt Matters: Employers Are Missing a Key Benefit Need Among Workers

health care and retirement, like building emergency savings and repaying student debt. But are the new financial wellness benefits really helping workers avoid financial hardship? While retirement savings accounts and health insurance benefits are common offerings for full-time employees at large companies, and many employers have begun offering student loan repayment support in recent years, […]

Federal Appeals Court Finds Town’s Decision Not to Reappoint Employee on FMLA Leave Lawful

The town of Kingston didn’t violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or state disability discrimination laws when it decided not to reappoint an employee on FMLA leave to her position after her predetermined term expired, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Massachusetts employers) recently ruled, upholding a lower court’s opinion. […]

The Key to Acquiring, Retaining Coveted Talent? Enhanced Benefits

Millions of Americans continue to vacate their jobs in a phenomenon that’s come to be known as the Great Resignation. But experts and analysts looking beyond the headlines to determine why so many people are quitting have begun referring to it as the Great Reckoning, the Great Upgrade, or the Great Acceptance. The majority of […]

Recertification Request Doesn’t Interfere with FMLA Rights

An employer’s request for medical recertification to establish eligibility for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave didn’t violate the Act, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Arkansas) recently ruled. Missing 16 consecutive days rather than the expected four to five days set forth in the original medical certification was a significant […]