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Compensation & Benefits

Electrolux redux: Ramadan schedules still in dispute

09/16/2011
Last year, Electrolux agreed to adjust its break schedule to accommodate Muslim employees working the evening shift at its St. Cloud plant. The EEOC mediated last year’s agreement in a process that was hailed as a model of cooperation between the employer, employees and the federal government. Problem solved, right? Not so fast.

Lying may mean no unemployment compensation

09/16/2011
Employees who lie when confronted about wrongdoing are ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits—at least if the lie concerned something about which the employer could reasonably expect the truth.

Consult your attorney for expert assistance on workers’ compensation disputes

09/16/2011

Employees who receive workers’ compensation payments for on-the-job injuries are assumed to have retired when they hit age 67. But a recent lawsuit argued that workers’ comp payments had to continue past that cutoff age because an employer had negotiated a legal settlement that didn’t specify that the payments would end at age 67. Fortunately, the Supreme Court of Minnesota has ruled otherwise.

401(k) 101: How to start a plan from scratch

09/15/2011
When cash for pay raises is tight, it’s hard to use that as a carrot to attract and retain em­­ployees. But the uncertain economy has many workers increasingly focused on long-term financial security. That makes retirement benefits all the more attractive. If you don’t currently offer a retirement plan, it might be time to consider establishing a 401(k) plan.

Off-hours training: Paid or unpaid?

09/14/2011
Q. We are requiring some hourly employees to take additional training. Those who work the day shift can attend the training in lieu of work. But employees who work the night shift will have to come in during the day. Must we pay extra for the night shift employees to attend the training?

Employees’ SSNs off limits in FLSA litigation

09/13/2011
The time to confirm employees’ Social Security numbers is when they’re hired, not when you’re slapped with a lawsuit for unpaid overtime and minimum wage violations. A federal trial court has ruled that an employer was out of bounds in requesting this information.

BellSouth ‘managers’ win class certification

09/13/2011

A federal judge has allowed an FLSA class-action lawsuit against BellSouth Telecommunications to move forward. The class consists of “level-one” managers who claim they have been misclassified so the company won’t have to give them overtime pay.

Know the FMLA rules: You must allow intermittent leave before women give birth

09/13/2011

Some employers mistakenly believe that women who want to use FMLA leave when they become pregnant can’t demand intermittent leave. Managers may be confusing FMLA provisions that apply to the time leading up to the birth of a child with those that apply to the time after the child is born (or adopted).

HHS bans co-pays for birth control, other services

09/12/2011
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidelines in August that require health insurance plans to cover eight different kinds of women’s preventive serv­ices without charging a co-payment or deductible.

Unemployment: States tighten eligibility, cut benefits

09/07/2011
Budget woes have led 10 states—Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin—to pass laws in the first half of 2011 to reduce unemployment insurance benefits or tighten eligibility requirements—or both.