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Compensation & Benefits

Prevent new-hire no-shows

11/01/2003
As the job market heats up, more applicants will accept jobs and then back out at the last minute, or simply fail to show up on Day 1. Midlevel sales, financial …

Start shopping around for cheaper life insurance

11/01/2003
If your organization offers life insurance benefits, now’s the time to start looking into new vendors. Reason: Premiums could decline up to 30 percent nationwide over the next few years, according …

Employees can buy OTC drugs with pretax cash

11/01/2003
The IRS recently announced that employees can pay for over-the-counter medicine (even aspirin) with pretax dollars through their company flexible spending account (FSA) or other pretax health care plans …

Do the math before taking action
against employee on FMLA leave

11/01/2003
When calculating an employee’s 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, always double-check your math, then run it by an HR boss or employment lawyer.
While you …

Be prepared to offer rock-solid reasons for pay levels

11/01/2003
Simply said, federal law requires you to provide men and women equal pay for equal work. While some situations dictate that you set pay differentials, say, for seniority, merit or quantity …

Make Sure ‘Manual Punch’ Counts Correct Hours

11/01/2003

Q. We use a timecard punch-in/punch-out system. If an employee forgets to punch in, and we manually do it, do any labor laws apply? —B.B., New York

Firing an H-1B worker? Notify feds first

11/01/2003
Organizations that employ foreign workers on H-1B visas must now take an extra step when terminating them: notifying the federal government. Example: A software company hired a programmer on a …

Are sales reps more prone to gamble at work? You bet

11/01/2003
If you have hard-charging salespeople on staff, keep an eye out for steep drops in their productivity, requests for pay advances and questionable absences and expenses. Reason: Those are signs of …

Gender gap closing a bit, but equal-pay claims still rise

11/01/2003
Reminder to employers: You may have heard that the gender pay gap is closing somewhat. But don’t slack off in your efforts to comply with the Equal Pay Act.
The …

Focus on employee retention now; don’t wait for economic rebirth

10/01/2003
HR professionals are gearing up for an expected wave of turnover as the job market recovers and workers split for better opportunities.
Fifty-six percent of HR pros say it’s extremely …