Tag: benefits

Out of PTO, Can’t Deduct, What Can You Do?

Here’s how to approach the situation: First, if it is important for the employees to be in the office during consistent work hours, make sure that is explained in a written policy. If the policy does not yet exist, create it if this is critical to your business. Make it part of the employee handbook […]

When Exempt Employee Has No PTO, Takes Time Off

PTO helps to bridge the gap between being required to pay salaried employees their full salary in a given workweek (even if they don’t work a full workweek), while also balancing how much time off can be taken without it becoming a problem. Employers often find themselves in a conundrum, however, over how to handle […]

CMS: Waiting Periods on Essential Benefits May Be Discrimination

Employer-sponsored health plans and insurers got a double dose of compliance advice on May 16 from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services in the form of a set of Frequently Asked Questions. The first FAQ clarifies that insurers in the individual and small group market may not impose waiting periods on specific essential health benefits. […]

FMLA Certification: Getting Clarification and Authentication

What should an employer do when an FMLA certification form is received that is unclear? Perhaps it's filled out completely, but the handwriting is illegible in some places. Or perhaps it appears as though it may have been filled out by someone other than the person who signed it. What actions can be taken without […]

FMLA Certification: Getting Clarification and Authentication

What should an employer do when an FMLA certification form is received that is unclear? Perhaps it's filled out completely, but the handwriting is illegible in some places. Or perhaps it appears as though it may have been filled out by someone other than the person who signed it. What actions can be taken without […]

Make Metrics Meaningful to Management

Metrics let people make decisions based on objective information rather than simply guessing or going by instinct. Metrics also let people know what is important to the organization, since a metric that is tracked will be analyzed. HR metrics have historically often focused on the past. For example, HR metrics often include things like turnover […]

Court Allows ERISA Plan to Deny Coverage to Same-Gender Spouse

A self-insured employer that explicitly excludes same-gender spouses from health plan coverage did not violate ERISA’s benefit interference or fiduciary breach provisions by having such exclusionary language, a federal district court in New York ruled. A same-gender couple had argued that, in light of U.S. v. Windsor, because the plan declined to cover the spouse, the employer interfered […]

Top 10: Compensation & Benefits Daily Advisor

9 Thinks You MUST NOT Include in Your Documentation Yesterday’s Advisor presented Attorney Franck Wobst’s key things you should include in documentation. Today, 9 things not to include, plus an introduction to Employee Compensation in Your State. Crimson Tide Coach Offers Seven Lessons for Every Manager Some of you might get tired of my use […]

Employers need to be ready for end of Oregon’s same-sex marriage ban

The end of Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage means employers need to take a look at their benefits policies and what laws require in terms of married couples. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane ruled on May 19 that the ban on same-sex marriage, which was added to the state constitution after voters passed Measure 36 […]

Align HR Metrics and Company Strategy

Your HR metrics say what’s important to HR, but is that what’s important to the C-Suite? HR professionals need to be keenly aware of the information they are providing to top management. Is it information that is useful in strategic decision making? If not, how can that be changed? Metrics let people make decisions based […]