Compensation & Benefits

Pre-autumn Friday wrap: MFA applies to EFTPS; the more MOUs, the merrier; e-filing updates; and more

09/22/2023

MFA for EFTPS deposits, new DOL MOUs and more acronyms to end the week.

Betting on a bonus? Not if you wagered on who’d get COVID

09/20/2023

In late 2020, Tyson Foods fired seven of its pork processing plant managers after they were caught betting on which of their employees would next get sick with COVID. Not content with leaving well enough alone, five of the seven fired managers sued Tyson Foods claiming that the company owed them a bonus payment.

Millennials and Gen Z: Lower the retirement age!

09/18/2023

More than half of millennial and Gen Z workers surveyed—51%—want to lower the full retirement age.

Open enrollment countdown: Spend this fall educating employees about benefits

09/13/2023

For many HR professionals, the fall open benefits enrollment season is a grueling ordeal for which the best outcome is mere survival. However, that mentality may mean missed opportunities to truly educate employees about your organization’s total rewards program and how they can choose the benefits that best serve them and their families.

It’s almost open enrollment, so let’s talk wellness benefits

09/12/2023

The only tax-free wellness benefit is reducing the monthly premiums employees pay for their major medical coverage. But there’s a darker flipside to wellness benefits that some employees won’t like: surcharges on employees’ major medical coverage for those who smoke tobacco.

Public comments on proposed OT rule accepted until Nov. 7

09/11/2023

The Department of Labor’s proposed rule raising the white-collar overtime salary threshold was published in the Federal Register on Sept. 8.

When compensation makes news, expect workers to demand higher pay

09/06/2023

Two remarkable events that took place in August may signal an accelerating trend: Employers should prepare to offer higher pay if they want to retain workers.

77% of employers report greater employee need for mental-health care

09/05/2023

An increase in mental-health challenges was cited as the most significant area of prolonged impact resulting from the pandemic. Last year, 44% of employers saw a rise in mental-health concerns, while 77% of employers reported an increase this year, with another 16% anticipating one in the future.

DOL rule would raise OT salary threshold to $55,068

08/31/2023

The Biden administration on Aug. 30 proposed a new rule increasing the white-collar overtime salary threshold to $55,068, a 55% increase over the current threshold of $35,568. Practical impact: Exempt administrative, executive and professional employees who earn less than $55,068 per year ($1,059 per week) must receive overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a workweek.

Employers plan for 7% rise in health-care costs next year

08/28/2023

Higher utilization due to chronic health conditions will be the primary cost driver for 22% of employers surveyed.