05/02/2008
A slowing economy and tight cash flow might make it tempting to trim benefits and bonuses. But drastic cuts could be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Here are 10 ways you can help soften the blow of reduced benefits and incentives ...
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05/02/2008
The children of Crowe Chizek and Co. accountants stay with baby sitters every Saturday morning during tax season, and their parents don’t pay. “We try to do everything we can to help them manage their work/life responsibilities,” Jane Hoff, HR leader, says ...
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04/10/2008
Employees who work on a commission basis and are fired often look to their compensation agreements to find any possible way they can claim additional commissions. Their first stop after the unemployment office is often an attorney, who will go over the compensation agreement with a fine-toothed comb to see whether there is more money to be had ...
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04/01/2008
As employers, we would like to think employees would be grateful for bonuses no matter the amount. But employees may perceive a smaller than expected bonus (or a bonus denied) as retaliation for engaging in protected activity ...
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03/01/2008
Texas contract law grants great leeway to employers that create incentive payment plans, especially when it comes to how employers calculate what payment is due employees. Essentially, if the incentive plan says the employer has the right to interpret the agreement language and its decision is final and binding, courts won’t interfere unless the employer interprets it in bad faith ...
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02/01/2008
Nothing can sink an organization faster than having to pay a huge damage award without insurance coverage to pick up at least part of the tab. And if you don’t have the right policy, that can happen under an exception to Michigan’s workers’ compensation law ...
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02/01/2008
U.S. Airways didn’t meet its holiday goals for on-time flights and baggage handling, so its workers did not receive the $100 bonus awards offered through the airline’s “Holiday Hustle” program ...
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02/01/2008
Commissions are a great way to motivate some employees to work harder. Usually a contract spells out the commission terms and how the payments work. But if the contract is the least bit unclear, expect trouble—especially if someday you have to discharge a commissioned salesman for poor performance ...
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12/01/2007
Your organization can help ease employee stress this holiday season by adding a few low-cost timesavers to your holiday bonus package. Small holiday kindnesses on the part of the boss can pay off in a big way for the organization all year. Here are a dozen ways your organization can help holiday-harried employees stay productive at work ...
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12/01/2007
Nobody’s accusing the state of Pennsylvania—where “Bonusgate” charges have been swirling—of underpaying its workers. Trying to hold onto his party’s slim majority in the Statehouse, Democratic Majority Floor Leader Bill DeWeese instituted new ethics policies in the wake of a grand jury probe ...
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12/01/2007
Verizon has announced that shareholders annually will get to approve or reject the company’s pay plans—starting in 2009. At the company’s annual meeting in May, more than half of the shareholders voted in favor of a “say on pay” proposal fronted by The Association of BellTel Retirees ...
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12/01/2007
If your organization pays some employees on a commission basis, it may be a good idea to put it in writing. Relying on just an oral agreement may lead to trouble down the road—especially if the employee quits and says you owe him money. Without a written agreement spelling out the commission terms, a lawsuit probably will come down to his word against yours ...
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11/01/2007
Incentive-pay programs and bonus plans are very common in North Carolina and sometimes constitute a significant portion of an employee’s pay. But if a dispute develops, the employee does not have a claim for breach of an employment contract. Instead, the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA) applies. The application of the NCWHA, which contains notice and nonforfeiture requirements, often takes employers and employees by surprise ...
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11/01/2007
Preliminary figures from a state audit of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) revealed extravagant expenditures by the agency, including a $108,000 employee appreciation day at Hershey Park just a month after PHEAA promised to curb spending ...
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10/30/2007
Are you overpaid, underpaid or in the right ballpark? A new survey of 88,000 HR professionals provides average compensation levels for dozens of HR positions. Plus, it highlights an important trend--incentive compensation is growing more common in the HR world.
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