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Compensation & Benefits

Do homework before selecting gift cards for employees

01/05/2009

Employees say gift cards make the best gifts, rewards or incentives. But buying gift cards from stores during a recession could be risky. Before you spend your incentive budget on cards that generate more problems than appreciation, do some homework.

Do year-end bonuses affect pay status?

01/05/2009

Q. What effect do end-of-year bonus payments have on a nonexempt recipient’s hourly rate of pay?

So, just how much does that guy make? Find out online

01/05/2009

Call it morbid interest born of the current economic crisis, but more and more everyday citizens want to know exactly how much Texas executives earn. To help them satisfy that curiosity, the Houston Chronicle has created a handy database …

3 ways HR can help employees cut their health care costs

01/05/2009

As the economy worsens, rising health costs are driving more employees to cut their own spending on medical care. Here are three ways your organization can keep workers focused on their health even as they skimp on expenses …

Deployed employees get full pay, benefits, monthly care packages

01/05/2009

The seven Shared Technologies employees who are serving in the military in Iraq or elsewhere get a monthly reminder that they’re still members of the team at the Texas company.

Consumer-driven health plans keep growing

01/05/2009

In their efforts to control health care costs, 45% of organizations have consumer-driven health (CDH) plans, up from 37% in 2007. Among them, 16% offer CDH programs to employees as their only option for a health plan …

May we recover insurance premiums paid while employee was on FMLA leave?

01/05/2009

Q. I have an employee who is taking leave under the FMLA. The company is continuing to pay the same portion of her health insurance premiums that we paid while she was working. If the worker fails to return to work when her protected leave expires, may the company recover the premium payments made during her leave period?

Backup care aids attendance when regular care falls through

01/05/2009

Employees of Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa rely on the organization’s backup dependent care program to step in when their regular arrangements fall through—even if the dependent is not an employee’s child.

Are you prepared to follow the new FMLA regulations?

01/05/2009

On Jan. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor’s new FMLA regulations became effective. The most significant changes were to the regulatory scheme for handling employee leave certifications and medical documentation.

Attendance policies: Control absenteeism without breaking the law

01/05/2009

Regular attendance is a key job function for most of your employees. But while you are free to set and enforce attendance rules, you must also comply with key federal laws, including the FMLA and the ADA …