Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As we kick off 2013, it’s a great time to take a step back as a manager and assess your situation, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald, and he’s got five questions that will force you to do just that. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day activities of managing and […]
Federal agencies will accept alternate definitions of full-time employee for purposes of health reform’s play-or-pay mandate, to allow for industry-specific labor norms and seasonal workers. Some business owners and workers requested special methods of calculating hours for employees: (1) whose compensation is not based on hours, such as salespeople on commission; and (2) whose work […]
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced on January 9 she will step down, but no signs of immediate change to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) policy or pending audits are apparent. President Barack Obama praised Solis’ term as DOL leader but named no possible successor. “Over her long career in public service—as an […]
Is it possible to craft a medical marijuana policy that keeps everyone safe yet is non-discriminatory? This is a central concern for employers as more and more states allow legal medical marijuana use. Employers want to keep a safe working environment, free from concerns of impaired individuals in safety-sensitive positions. However, where is the line […]
With the new year upon us, now is a good time to sit down and evaluate your pay grades, and pay-for-performance systems. Base pay grades aren’t a “set and forget” kind of thing. Employee salaries are fluid and always evolving. To remain competitive, base pay grades must be reviewed and adjusted periodically to keep track […]
An employee handbook can be your friend or your foe. Careless wording may create a contract promising employees advantages you don’t mean to promise, but on the flip side, a carefully-worded handbook can help shield your organization from liability. Employee handbooks are a powerful tool for any organization—if you get them right. Recently, Adam Keating […]
How can an employer make the decision whether or not to offer healthcare benefits versus paying the penalty for not doing so? This conundrum is referred to as “pay or play” when discussing the new healthcare reform law. However, the decision of whether or not to provide coverage is not simple and requires much more […]
In a BLR webinar titled “Depression and Other Mental Illness Under New ADA: Accommodation Practices for HR,” Susan G. Fentin and Ronald Schouten tackled the sensitive issue of handling depression and other mental illnesses that employees may face. This issue can be complex because employees are often reluctant to ask for help, the symptoms of […]
Reporting employer-provided health care coverage is required under the Affordable Care Act;while not a new 2013 payroll tax, it is a change to the W-2 form that employers need to be aware of. Healthcare Reform W-2 Reporting Requirements are Not New 2013 Payroll Taxes With all of the recent discussion over 2013 tax rates, it […]
Fichthorn, who is vice president in the Philadelphia office of Hay Group, offers the following chart to clarify what employers want and how it compares to what the public wants. Topic Area What Makes Business Sense? What Do Shareholders Want? Where’s Their Breaking Point? Pay Philoso-phy Pay positioning that maps to competitive positioning Pay positioning […]