Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The apparent lack of qualified workers has become a well-publicized conundrum during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can’t drive by a retail establishment without seeing a “help wanted” sign in the window. Theories abound about why jobs are going unfilled. It’s common to assume the answer is to offer higher pay rates. Although the variables in […]
New disclosure requirements should bring more transparency to the health plan side of employee benefits and allow plan fiduciaries to know and understand all the ways, direct and indirect, everyone is getting paid. The changes will help the fiduciaries to identify and assess possible conflicts of interest.
In Greek mythology, Panacea was the goddess of universal remedy. She supposedly had a potion of herbs to cure almost any ailment. From the fabled goddess, the English language has adopted the word “panacea” to mean a cure-all or solution to all problems. Often, filing a lawsuit is seen as the way to get all […]
Nearly all states have enacted some type of healthcare continuation coverage law (sometimes referred to colloquially as a “mini-COBRA” statute) that is similar to the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) or that supplements the federal requirements. Many of these laws predate federal COBRA but remain in effect after COBRA became law. This column […]
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Michigan employers) recently issued a long-awaited decision about the appropriateness of interest rate assumptions used by union pension funds to calculate withdrawal liability. The court affirmed a district court’s opinion holding the Ohio Operating Engineers Pension Fund’s use of the “Segal Blend” violated the Employee Retirement […]
The post-pandemic race is on to attract new employees—and as HR and finance executives both know, the solution can’t always be higher wages. Fortunately, other factors still mean a lot to jobseekers in the revived economy. Casual Fridays and office snack bars may help, but as research shows, health insurance is still at or near […]
What will the post-pandemic future of work look like for small and midsize businesses (SMBs)? As companies design their return-to-work policies, SMBs are facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink their employee benefits strategies. After all, employee benefits play a critical role in how companies of all sizes attract and retain top talent. While SMBs might […]
When job candidates consider which position is best for them, benefits can be the factor that tips them from one company to another. As an indirect form of compensation, benefits fuel their quality of life. The responsibility of any good company is to provide fair, competitive, and livable benefit options. Therefore, it’s crucial that companies […]
A new survey from Willis Towers Watson points to some diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) impacts that can be driven by something many organizations may not have considered: their benefit packages. The Emerging Trends in Health Care Survey, which is based on input from 446 employers and was conducted between February 23 and March 12 […]
The pandemic’s sweeping impacts shifted how, when, and where millions of people work. Firms that previously did not allow remote working under any circumstances changed their tune and offered flexible working options. As part of this broader change, companies also altered the benefits they offered to new hires and existing workers. As the pandemic fades […]