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Compensation & Benefits

Workplace violence: Georgia law opens liability beyond workers’ comp

01/01/2007

Twelve percent of all violent crimes committed in the United States occur in the workplace. And Georgia employers face unique legal challenges in their response to such violence …

Weather can excuse late filing for unemployment benefits

01/01/2007

As every Florida resident knows, hurricanes can wreak havoc. But until now, ex-employees had to file unemployment compensation appeals by the statutory deadline—hurricane or no hurricane …

Florida’s business tax climate ranked fifth best in 2007

01/01/2007

Florida’s tax climate is the fifth best in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation’s annual State Business Tax Climate Index …

State cuts workers’ comp rates by an average 15.7 percent

01/01/2007

The state’s insurance commissioner, Kevin McCarty, got his wish, approving an average 15.7 percent cut in workers’ compensation rates. That means a savings of more than $400 million for Florida employers …

Florida Workers’ Comp Law: What Is ‘Maximum Medical Improvement’?

01/01/2007

Even though Florida’s workers’ compensation (WC) system includes many safeguards to protect against abuse, you must still stay on top of cases to ensure that you pay only legitimate benefits …

6 legally vital elements in staffing-firm contracts

01/01/2007

When negotiating contracts with employee outsourcing firms, many organizations make background checks an afterthought and leave the specifics up to the agency. That’s a  big mistake …

North Carolina Unemployment Compensation Law

01/01/2007

North Carolina’s unemployment compensation fund, like that of many other states, provides temporary payments to employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The program draws from a public policy that assumes “economic insecurity due to unemployment is a serious menace to the health, morals, and welfare of the people of this state” and the legislature is compelled to “lighten its burden [on] … the unemployed worker and his family.” North Carolina administers the law through its Employment Security Commission (ESC) (www.ncesc.com/) …

North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act

01/01/2007

North Carolina’s workers’ compensation system protects employees who are injured on the job by replacing lost wages while they recover. The state Industrial Commission (www.comp.state.nc.us/) administers the law …

Accept FMLA proof from foreign doctors

01/01/2007

Q. Many of my employees request FMLA leave to return to their native countries to care for sick relatives, or they request personal medical leave due to a “sudden illness” that occurs while visiting those countries. In some cases, these countries don’t have regulated physicians. Documents can be easily obtained from any street vendor. Are U.S. employers required to accept these documents? —L.W.

8-Week sabbaticals help workers return fresh, stick around longer

01/01/2007

SC Johnson paid one of its employees 25 percent of her salary to spend eight weeks in Mexico learning the culture and language. She’s among about 70 employees who have participated in the company’s five-year-old sabbatical program, which allows anyone who has worked at the company for at least five years to take off eight weeks …