• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

Paying attention to attendance policies

09/29/2022
Assuring that workers show up for their scheduled shifts is crucial. one popular way is through a no-fault attendance policy that punishes unplanned absences beyond those protected by the FMLA, the ADA and the company’s vacation and sick time policies. But such policies can backfire.

Small employer alternatives to substantial wage increases

09/28/2022
When employees consider new job offers, they typically compare the total compensation packages. Make the comparison easy by providing a clear summary of total compensation, including all benefits. If the bottom-line number needs to be higher, think creatively about new or enhanced benefits.

Survey sheds light on rising health-care costs

09/28/2022
Cancer is the number one driver of large companies’ health-care costs, according to the Business Group on Health’s 2023 Large Employers’ Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey.

Pay time-and-a-half or pay the price

09/22/2022
U.S. Department of Labor investigators found Done-Rite Tree Co. failed to pay overtime wages to 39 nonexempt workers in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Pay disparity lawsuit blooms

09/22/2022
A class action filed on Sept. 8 for claims under the Equal Pay Act asserts that women in managerial positions are paid at a lower rate than men in managerial positions.

Fashioning an education benefit

09/22/2022
Many employers are desperate to retain workers already on their payrolls and attract new ones. Enhanced benefits that are “sticky” are one way to do so. By offering perks that are hard to replace elsewhere and enticing workers to stay put, employers hope to come out ahead of the competition.

Diner ordered to dish up $1.35 million

09/20/2022
The Empire Diner in Lansdowne, Pa., learned the hard way it’s not nice to steal your servers’ tips.

Well? Chicago city employees aren’t feeling so good

09/19/2022
Wellness plans tread some fine lines, because an effective wellness plan must first develop baseline measurements on participants. And these baseline measurements may violate federal law, like the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. City workers in Chicago are testing this right now.

DOL seizes, sells owners’ real estate to obtain back pay

09/15/2022
It took seven years, but the Department of Labor—a tenacious litigator if ever there was one—finally secured back pay for 478 workers who were employed by four related Massachusetts construction companies.

Survey says, ‘Take off!’ You need a vacation!

09/13/2022
If you haven’t taken a vacation in the past year, you’re not alone. An August survey found that 42% of U.S. workers had not taken any vacation time off in the preceding 12 months.