Incentive Pay

Fieger acquitted of reimbursing—Er, paying bonuses

06/12/2008

“Everything is permitted unless it’s specifically prohibited,” Geoffrey Fieger told a Detroit federal jury, denying that he took advantage of a loophole in the law when he reimbursed employees for campaign contributions. “That’s what a lot of lawyers do—look for what’s permitted,” he said …

Attract new college grads with signing bonuses

06/06/2008

If you’re planning to offer jobs to new college graduates this summer, you’ll be competing with a growing number of organizations that pay signing bonuses. Nearly 54% of the employers responding to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Job Outlook 2008 survey said they will use signing bonuses to sweeten the deal for potential hires …

Expect more scrutiny of high-Paid execs’ salaries

06/06/2008

The Securities and Exchange Commission just created an online tool that lets the public easily see how much top execs are paid at the 500 largest public U.S. companies …

5 survival tips: Seek employee help to weather the recession

05/20/2008

It’s not easy for employees to hear that economic tough times mean they’re not getting a pay raise or that their jobs are in jeopardy. Having to deliver the bad news may be almost as hard. Here are five ways to make the most of a difficult situation—and invite employees to be part of the solution.

10 tips to ease the pain when tightening the benefits belt

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 …

Tapped-out accountants get work/life help in tax season

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 …

Run sales commission language by counsel to avoid needless litigation

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 …

Inequitably reducing or denying bonus may be retaliation

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 …

Warning: Draft clear compensation agreements to avoid needless litigation

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 …

Does your insurance cover you for employee injuries that fall outside workers’ comp?

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 …