Author: Jane Meacham, Contributing Editor

Retirement Industry Counters ‘Frontline’ Accusations With Data

Education is often the best antidote to negative news about 401(k) plans. With this in mind, several retirement industry spokesmen have provided statistics to defend retirement plan management practices after the recent airing of a TV documentary that may have concerned some 401(k) participants. The U.S. retirement investment community was quick to react to the […]

New Reform Rules Give More Guidance on Minimum Value Coverage

Determining whether group health coverage provides “minimum value” is key to avoiding penalties under health reform’s premium tax credit program, so employers will likely welcome new proposed rules that further explain MV criteria. The proposal, to be published May 3 by IRS, would complement language in final rules issued in February on how reform’s MV […]

Employee Engagement and Retention—32 Things to Do

Most experts believe that engagement is not all about money. There are actions you can take that could be effective at retention of high potential and/or key player employees. For example: Talk to the employees and let them know that you value their services and that you have high hopes for their futures at your […]

FAQs on completing medical certifications for FMLA/CFRA

Medical certification rules are designed to help employers verify whether a requested leave of absence is covered under the FMLA/CFRA. But simply asking the employee to return the medical certification does not always answer that question. For example, what medical certification should employers require for serious health conditions that are incurable—and how often can recertifications […]

Pay for Performance Requires SMART Goals

Yesterday’s Advisor offered success factors for pay for performance. Today, consultant Diana D. Neelman, CCP shows why pay for performance can fail, and we introduce you to a unique 10-minutes-at-a time training system for supervisors. Making Sense of Goals and Objectives Neelman offers the following suggestions for making goals and objectives truly helpful: Make performance […]

PBGC May Exempt Most Companies, Pensions from ‘Reportable Events’ Rules

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., in a policy reversal, has agreed to exempt most companies and their pension plans from sweeping “reportable events” requirements first proposed in 2009. This news should be a relief for the many small or financially sound companies with defined benefit plans that had expressed concern about reporting relatively minor business […]

Strategies for Coping With a Wage and Hour Audit

Thousands of employers get a figurative knock-on-the-door each year from an investigator from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. WHD is the agency responsible for enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act, among other laws. A visit from WHD […]

Turnover Armageddon? Could Be Heading Your Way

If your organization is like most, workers have been patient about compensation for several years of low or no raises. They understood that their organizations were squeezed by economic pressures, and they were also held back by general insecurity about changing jobs in tricky times. But patience is wearing thin, and indications are that as […]

Teach Your New Supervisors How to Train Effectively

Training employees is a big part of any supervisor’s job. Whether it’s formal classroom training, safety meetings, on-the-job training, or coaching, teaching employees how to do their jobs properly is an important part of your supervisory responsibility. Training improves worker performance and productivity. Formal and informal training should build skills and competence as well as […]