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

Compensation & Benefits

Debate heats up over health reform, taxing benefits

06/26/2009

Congress and the Obama administration began laying the groundwork last month for an overhaul of the U.S. health care system. The big question: How to pay for it?

Survey: New COBRA subsidy will increase costs

06/26/2009

Six of 10 employers anticipate that their health care costs will increase as a result of the new federal COBRA subsidy law, says an Aon Consulting survey.

Caution before offering ‘retire or be fired’

06/26/2009

Here’s something to keep in mind when you are tempted to give an employee a choice between termination and early retirement: He may allege that the retirement option was really a constructive discharge.

New bill seeks to cover second opinions under ERISA

06/26/2009

Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.) recently introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would add mandatory coverage for second opinions on medical treatments under several laws, including ERISA.

Furloughs go white-collar: How to keep them fair and legal

06/26/2009

In past recessions, furloughs—requiring employees to take a certain number of unpaid days off—were mostly limited to blue-collar workers. But this downturn is different. In the past two years, everyone from tech firms to state government has furloughed their white-collar employees. Experts offer the following options for furloughs:

Congress considers legislation mandating paid sick leave

06/26/2009

Millions of employees would be eligible for seven days of paid sick leave annually if the Healthy Families Act, recently introduced in Congress, becomes law. A coalition of HR and business groups vowed to fight the bill, saying it would “force companies to increase layoffs, reduce wages and cut important employee benefits.”

Problem Solved: Real People … Real HR Solutions, July ’09

06/26/2009

This month’s collection of real-world quick tips from American business leaders, brought to you by members of The Alternative Board.

Can we prohibit employees from sharing salary information with one another?

06/26/2009

Q. Is it illegal for a company to prohibit employees from sharing salary and wage information?

Public employers not subject to some California overtime, pay rules

06/26/2009

In what may be a classic case of “do as I say, not as I do,” a California appeals court has ruled that public employers in the state don’t have to follow the same state overtime and pay rules that apply to private employers.

Should pharma reps get OT? State Supreme Court to decide

06/26/2009

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has asked the California Supreme Court to rule on whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are exempt under the California Labor Code. Traditionally, they have been classified as exempt.