Incentive Pay

DEI in the crosshairs: Review hiring incentives to ensure they’re not based on quotas

04/21/2025

If you pay managers or executives more for achieving diversity, equity and inclusion goals, you might attract the attention of EEOC lawyers intent on curtailing DEI initiatives—and you could find yourself the target of a lawsuit.

NLRB mandate: Amend stay-or-pay rules by Dec. 6

10/25/2024

Offering especially generous benefits such as paying a signing bonus, reimbursing college tuition, covering relocation expenses or providing costly training can certainly buy employees’ loyalty. But if you try to cement that loyalty with penalties for quitting before an agreed-upon period of time has passed, you may soon find yourself facing a National Labor Relations Board unfair labor practice charge.

Holiday scheduling: How to keep the peace

11/22/2023

Federal law says you must make a reasonable effort to accommodate employees’ “sincere” religious beliefs, including trying to give them time off for religious observances. The best way to minimize scheduling disputes, especially around religious holidays, and avoid legal trouble is through a few smart preventative measures.

Counter ‘Big Quit’ with counteroffer strategy

07/28/2022

Surprisingly, more than 90% of organizations don’t have a policy or strategy on how (or whether) to propose counteroffers, according to Tom McMullen, senior partner at consulting firm Korn Ferry.

Merit increases, bonuses got big bumps last year

02/22/2022

Faced with a persistently competitive labor market, 52% of organizations participating in Salary.com’s Annual Pay Practices and Compensation Strategy Survey said they increased funding for merit increases in 2021. This is a significant jump from the 19% of organizations that did so in 2020.

Education perks become a key retention tool

08/13/2021

Employers aren’t just struggling to attract new workers; they’re scrambling to retain current employees, too. Enter the education benefit wars. Large employers are betting that paying employee tuition will be a key retention tool.

Beware choosing wrong vaccine incentive

07/20/2021

Forcing all employees to be vaccinated presents significant legal risks, and most employment law attorneys recommend against it. A popular work-around has been to encourage vaccinations by offering incentives to employees. That can help. But the incentive offered matters. Here’s what works and what can get you in trouble.

EEOC: OK to require employees to be vaccinated against covid-19

06/01/2021

Federal equal employment opportunity laws do not prevent an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for covid-19, according to new guidance issued by the EEOC on May 28. However, employers must comply with the reasonable accommodation provisions of the ADA and Title VII.

Labor crunch: Lure applicants with higher pay

05/27/2021

The post-pandemic economy is showing signs of a solid recovery. Businesses that sell goods and services are gearing up to satisfy pent-up demand. But first they need to hire staff, and that is proving to be a challenge, even as the unemployment rate continued to hover around 6.1% in April.

Your vaccination decisions: 5 key issues to consider

04/15/2021

You should absolutely formalize your decisions in a written vaccination policy that you provide to each employee, so that everyone is on the same page as to your requirements and expectations. Here are the five key considerations that should be front of mind.