Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
When using contingent workers, defined as non-traditional and non-employee workers (often either independent contractors or workers leased from temp agencies or professional employer organizations), employers remove a lot of the hassles associated with managing a workforce internally. However, they also introduce some risks, especially since the decisions are often out of their hands.
The first thing to recognize about compression is that there are no secrets at work, says consultant Brown. People are going to find out what other people make. They may talk openly or it may be relatively innocent, he adds. For example, your life insurance is half of salary, and employees are sitting at lunch […]
Payments by qualified retirement plans for accident or health insurance will be taxable distributions to participants in most cases, starting with the 2015 tax year, according to new IRS final regulations. Retirees are excluded from having to pay tax on plan payments for medical benefits, however. IRS on May 6 approved amendments to 26 C.F.R. […]
Vacation time and paid holidays may be a relatively standard benefit to offer to full-time employees, but in the United States, it’s not actually legally mandated. While many employers are well aware of this, it’s important to make a note of, since employees often treat it as a right. In fact, vacation time is typically […]
[For the beginning of the survey report, go here.] Telecommuting Formal telecommuting guidelines are in place and employees are required to sign a formal agreement for 23.8%. An allowance to cover employee expenses for setting up telecommuting at their home is provided by 33.1%, 40.3% reimburse telecommuting employees for monthly Internet connections, and 54.2% reimburse […]
Highlights of our 2014 Perks Survey of over 2,000 employers: Paid holidays is the number one perk. Also in the top five: life insurance, LTD, STD, and paid vacation. For exempt employees, flextime is offered by 60.9%. Other benefits being offered include: Financial planning assistance (51.7%) Telecommuting (49.2%) Legal assistance programs (39.8%) On-site fitness centers […]
Defined benefit plan sponsors have gained a new incentive to fully fund their pension plans – even if that requires borrowing, according to a recent research report. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act enacted in mid-2012 raised U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. premiums for plan sponsors maintaining an underfunded DB plan, […]
Ensuring the proper classification of workers is a concern for many reasons. Taxes, employment laws and employee benefits are the main ones. Have you run into situations where you were unsure of whether a worker should be classified as an employee or contractor?
Workers’ compensation laws have come about as a way to establish a means of compensation for injured employees while simultaneously reducing the amount of litigation against employers when employees are injured on the job. The workers’ compensation laws are administered on the state level, and the federal government has its own separate program. Workers’ compensation […]
Due to some ambiguity in model government language explaining the interplay of the Affordable Care Act with COBRA coverage, the Obama administration has both proposed an update to model COBRA notices and provided a new special enrollment opportunity for COBRA qualified beneficiaries (QBs) to enroll in marketplace coverage. Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor […]