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

Compensation & Benefits

Flexibility remains at the top of the employee wants list

09/04/2024
What do applicants want in an employer? According to a recent study, the answer is increasing flexibility. They want core hours with the ability to perform work anytime outside those hours, and the ability to work either on a hybrid schedule, from home or at a designated office during core hours only.

Harness payroll metrics to gain valuable data points

09/04/2024
Payroll is awash in data—taxes withheld, hours worked and overtime due are just three measurable items. You can use these metrics to identify trends, find patterns and project the future. Or you can stumble around in the dark, hoping things line up and coming up short on explanations when they don’t.

Legislative milestone: ERISA turns 50

09/03/2024
Among other things, ERISA requires sponsors of private employee benefit plans to provide participants and beneficiaries with adequate information regarding their plans. In addition, employer representatives who manage benefit plans must meet certain fiduciary standards of conduct.

Survey: Employer health-care costs to rise 8% in 2025

09/03/2024
U.S. employers project a median health-care cost increase of 8% for 2025, according to International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans survey results. This is an increase over similar surveys conducted in 2022 and 2023, which projected a 7% rise in costs.

October 2024: Employer’s business tax calendar

08/31/2024
Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

DOL’s 80/20 tip-credit rule overturned

08/30/2024
A federal appeals court on Aug. 23 struck down a Department of Labor rule governing how tipped workers must be paid for performing work for which they cannot receive tips.

More states ramp up pay-transparency requirements

08/30/2024
The push for pay equity is gaining momentum in statehouses nationwide. Several states have enacted legislation that prohibits employers from using new employees’ past compensation to set starting salaries and requiring them to disclose their starting pay ranges.

Back-to-school: How to manage leave requests

08/30/2024
The start of each school year brings new responsibilities that pull employees away from work. You may try to be flexible with your parent-workers, but how far you bend depends in large part on whether employees are nonexempt or exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state short-term leave laws.

Bosses’ personal assets are at risk! How to dodge the spike in wage-and-hour lawsuits

08/23/2024
Want to stop bosses from allowing off-the-clock work or looking the other way when employees work unpaid overtime? Remind them that, unlike some other employment laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act lets employees sue supervisors (and HR professionals like you) personally—not just the organization itself.

I love you, now please get off my health insurance

08/22/2024
Open enrollment will soon be here. If you’re wondering why your group health premiums have gone sky-high, it may be because you extend group coverage to employees’ spouses. You can kick spouses off your plan without it turning into a catastrophe for employees. Some options may even save employees money.