Tag: benefits

Leading Organizations Are Designing PFML Programs to Attract and Retain Employees

The workforce continues to face enormous challenges. Despite strong support, the United States does not yet have a federal standard of paid family medical leave (PFML) or paid family leave. Disruptions like the ongoing effects of the pandemic, the Great Resignation, increasing mental health and caregiving needs among workers, and the migration to remote work […]

With Medical Bills Piling Up, How Can Companies Help Employees?

Healthcare costs for Americans are rising, and along with them is the percentage of medical bills or debt in collections. A common misconception is that health insurance is a panacea for healthcare costs, but that’s simply not true. While health insurance can cover a portion of healthcare costs, many Americans are still in debt from […]

Administering COBRA Continuation Coverage in Mergers and Acquisitions Can Be Complicated

Recently, there has been an uptick in the number of business transactions in the marketplace. From a legal perspective, employee benefits issues are often a key element of any business transaction. Everything from employee pay, retention, and bonus payments to 401(k), pensions, and fringe benefits is “on the table” as the parties negotiate terms. Of […]

How Employers Are Adapting to Labor Market Shifts

Various factors have combined to create what is being called the Great Resignation. Historic stock prices buoyed 401(k)s, and runaway home prices left many older workers feeling financially secure enough to retire early. Many workers have left jobs because they either fear exposure to COVID-19 or don’t want to deal with precautions like masking, testing, […]

The Hard Truth for Employers About Long Hours

By definition, most Americans think of a “full-time job” as one that is worked 40 hours per week. For some legal and regulatory purposes, 32 hours will even be classified as full-time. The reality for many workers, however, is quite different. Some professions routinely see workers putting in 60, 70 or 80 hours per week, […]

Employer’s COBRA Notice Missteps Mean it Must Provide Retiree with Retroactive Coverage, Pay Statutory Penalties

Employers that provide retiree medical coverage for certain employees need to carefully consider how to integrate that retiree medical coverage with continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). Many employers assume that if retirees receive retiree medical coverage at subsidized rates (or even for free), then no COBRA coverage has to be […]

Faces of HR: Ana Recio on Valuing HR, Her Best Mistake & More

Meet Ana Recio, SVP of Talent at SoFi – a finance company that offers comprehensive financial solutions on one platform. We recently connected with Ana to discuss how she got her start in the industry, her biggest influences, best mistake, as well as her thoughts on how company leaders can make HR a value within their […]

What About Mom? Surveys of Working Moms Show Feelings of High Stress, Low Employer Support

Typically the glue that holds the family unit together, moms—and working moms in particular—are struggling with concerns about not only their kids’ mental health but also their own. And with pressures mounting at both home and work, many working moms believe they have nowhere to turn for help. Declining Teen Mental Health Impacts Parents It’s […]

Approaching DEI with a Global Lens

When Americans think of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), it’s understandably through an American lens, colored by national history, norms, culture, laws, and economy. But while the United States remains an economic powerhouse, it’s just one part of the global economy. As other nations continue to develop and gain in economic influence and as America […]

Faces of HR: How One HR Pro’s Strategic Approach to HR Helps Move the Needle Forward

Meet Valarie Arismendez, SVP of People at Hello Heart. The digital therapeutics company focuses exclusively on heart disease, partnering with employer organizations to provide a connected mobile app that works alongside an employer’s benefits ecosystem. The app’s technology uses AI, behavioral science, and personalized digital coaching to drive healthy lifestyle changes. In her role as […]