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Compensation & Benefits

Nice work if you can get it: 12 years of full-time time off

03/22/2011
Heads are rolling in Norfolk, Va., following the discovery that a government worker who was suspended 12 years ago and hasn’t done a day of work since then has been drawing a paycheck the whole time. And get this: Now that she’s been officially fired, she’s suing.

Push is on for space and time for breastfeeding at work

03/22/2011
New moms who want to continue breastfeeding after they return to work have powerful supporters behind them—and a new law that says their employers have to give them time, privacy and space to pump. Here are six factors to consider if your organization is planning to set up space for breastfeeding moms:

Put muscle in your flex: Quit justifying, start implementing

03/21/2011

In recent years, it’s become clear that companies are slow to adopt flexible workplace practices. Employees at award-winning workplaces continue to lament their lack of flexibility. While 80% of Americans say they want workplace flexibility, only a third report having it. There are big barriers to adopting and sustaining flexible workplace practices within an organization. We need to shift our focus from the “why” to the “how.”

Summer FMLA leave to care for child: Permissible?

03/18/2011
Q. An employee asked to take 12 weeks of FMLA leave this summer because her kindergarten-age child will be out of school. She says her child is special-needs and can’t go to summer camp. Do we have to allow her to take what amounts to an unpaid summer vacation?

Survey: Miami restaurant staff underpaid, lack benefits

03/16/2011
Almost two out of five restaurant workers in the Miami area make so little that they fall below the poverty line, according to a new survey by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Miami and Florida International University.

Extremely small businesses may not be bound by FLSA minimum wage, overtime rules

03/16/2011

Almost everyone assumes that all employees are covered by the federal FLSA. But in some rare circumstances, employees in very small and distinctly local businesses may not be entitled to minimum wage or overtime. If the business does not earn at least $500,000 in gross annual revenue—the minimum for an entire enterprise to be covered by the FLSA—then some employees may not be covered either.

Regularly review FLSA exempt/nonexempt status

03/16/2011
Perhaps nothing strikes more fear in an HR manager’s heart than learning that employees have filed a class-action wage-and-hour lawsuit alleging they were improperly classified as exempt employees. Your best defense is to be proactive about pay issues. Conduct regular reviews to make sure positions throughout your organization are properly classified as hourly or salaried.

Invest in the future: Bring back benefits now

03/16/2011
As the economy strengthens, many productive employees who feel overworked and undercompensated will seek jobs elsewhere. Don’t give your stars an excuse to jump ship. Keep them satisfied by implementing new benefits and reinstating those that you cut during the recession.

Medicare reporting rules delayed until 2012

03/15/2011
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently postponed until next year a requirement that certain partially self-insured employers must report any one-time or lump-sum payments to persons entitled to Medicare benefits.

Must we pay for lactation breaks?

03/14/2011
Q. Are employers required to pay employees for break time taken under the Nursing Mothers Law?