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Compensation & Benefits

Health-Care inflation ‘Good news’ is relative: Rate increases fall again, but still above 10%

06/19/2007

While health-care costs are forecast to rise at a slower pace in 2008, don’t get too excited: Those costs will still increase at a double-digit rate. Here are the numbers, plus three suggestions for ways to successfuly "sell" health-premium increases to employees.

Supreme Court affirms that FLSA doesn’t apply to all employees

06/12/2007

A Supreme Court case narrowly focused on FLSA protections for home health care workers may signal a broader trend worth watching. Is a conservative high court now more inclined to defer to federal agency interpretations of the law even when those interpretations limit employee rights? A new EEOC age discrimination case that could reach the Supreme Court might tell the tale.

Design bonus payments to reduce OT liability

06/01/2007
Do you hand out discretionary bonuses? If so, you may be paying more overtime than necessary—and mishandling bonus payments could land you in court.

Total-Compensation Statements: More important than ever

06/01/2007

For the first time in five years, HR pros who handle benefits are saying that employee retention is an even more important goal than cost control. The key to keeping good employees in your organization: Make sure they know the dollar value of their benefits packages …

Former plumbers union president indicted for embezzlement

06/01/2007

A grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas indicted William I. “Willie” Brown, former president of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 237 in Texarkana, on multiple counts of embezzlement …

The court affirms: Your employee has the right to an attorney

06/01/2007

An Ohio appeals court significantly expanded employees’ rights recently when it upheld a fired employee’s right to trial after her employer terminated her because she threatened to talk to her attorney …

As Same-Sex Unions Spread, So Do Job Protections

06/01/2007

New Hampshire last month voted to give same-sex couples the same legal rights as other couples, making New England the first region in which every state provides some sort of protection for the civil unions of same-sex partners …

Obesity equals higher absenteeism, workers’ comp costs

06/01/2007

A great deal of attention has focused on the direct health costs caused by obese employees. But a new Duke University Medical Center study shows obesity also takes a heavy toll on your workers’ comp costs and absenteeism rates …

Commuting injury not covered by workers’ compensation unless the route is hazardous

06/01/2007

Generally, Michigan employees aren’t entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries that happen while driving to or from work. One exception is that for so-called “excessive exposure to traffic risks” …

Striking employees forfeit unemployment comp

06/01/2007

Q. We are in contract negotiations, and there is some concern that our employees will actually vote to go out on strike. Are striking employees eligible for unemployment compensation benefits in Michigan?—F.B.