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

Compensation & Benefits

If employee is fired for refusing vaccine, can he still collect unemployment?

09/17/2021
As more employers mandate the vaccine for their workers, some employees are asking an important question: If I’m fired for refusing my company’s vaccine mandate, would I still qualify for unemployment?

Take local predictable scheduling laws seriously

09/16/2021
These days, it’s harder than ever to schedule hourly workers. But before the pandemic hit, scores of cities and towns adopted predictable scheduling laws aimed at letting hourly workers plan their lives around regular schedules. Ignoring those rules may mean big payouts for affected workers.

Got 50 employees but fewer than 100 employees and a vaccination problem? Then beware the ACA

09/16/2021
The Affordable Care Act has specific rules on wellness plans, affordable coverage and free-rider penalties. These demand your immediate attention.

Snapshot: Remote mental health benefits increased in 2020

09/14/2021
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, employers responded to the pandemic by adding wellness benefits employees can access remotely.

FSAs, HSAs, HRAs: Decoding the alphabet soup of group health plan add-on accounts

08/26/2021
Almost all health plans offer add-on accounts—health flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts or health reimbursement accounts. You need to know how these accounts differ so you can communicate about them to employees. Here are the basics.

Pay some teleworkers less based on location?

08/26/2021
It may be time to rethink how much you pay remote employees. Some large employers already have. If you are considering adjusting your compensation strategy for remote employees, expect backlash. Two tactics will make it easier to weather the criticism.

Welcome to our three-hurricane Friday wrap

08/20/2021
Let’s talk FIRE system improvements, new employer guidance from OSHA, new per diem rates and more.

Cost of diverting prevailing wages: $20 million

08/19/2021
A Pennsylvania construction contractor pleaded guilty earlier this month in what is thought to be the largest criminal prevailing-wage theft case in U.S. history. The cost for short-changing employees who worked on state paving contracts: $20 million.

U.S. employers planning larger pay raises for 2022

08/17/2021
Pay raises are making a comeback. U.S. companies plan to give employees larger raises next year as they recover from the economic fallout from the pandemic and face mounting challenges attracting and retaining employees, according to a new survey by the Willis Towers Watson consulting firm.

Apply leave policy equally to all employees

08/13/2021
You probably have a well-defined leave policy that gives employees time off for vacations, illness and tending to personal business. Whether you provide separate pots of leave or lump it all into paid and unpaid time off, your leave policy must treat all employees equally.