Author: Gwen Cofield, Contributing Editor

Four Tips on Reviewing and Updating COBRA Notice Procedures

The failure to administer COBRA continuation coverage notices correctly can cost employers and plan administrators money, time and aggravation, says COBRA expert Paul M. Hamburger, Esq. of Proskauer Rose LLP. He provides four tips they can use to help avoid COBRA notice missteps: (1) prepare clear, accurate and complete COBRA notices; (2) be sure to […]

Should Incentive Plans Be a Component of Your Compensation Program?

In a BLR webinar titled “Smart Compensation Strategies for Small Employers: How to Maximize Your Budget and Reduce Legal Risks,” David J. Wudyka outlined some tips on implementing effective incentive plans. Why Implement an Incentive Plan? Incentive plans can be an effective part of a company’s compensation strategy. However, it is important to analyze whether […]

Paired Comparison: Simple, Inexpensive, & It Works

In yesterday’s Advisor, compensation expert David Wudyka helped smaller employers to maintain a “big company” compensation system. Today, his suggestions about an inexpensive way to evaluate and rank jobs, plus an introduction to an all-in-one compensation supersite. Big companies use complex quantitative job evaluation systems, says Wudyka, who is managing principal of Westminster Associates in […]

Another reform rule delayed, offering temporary relief for business

The administration doesn’t mind taking the occasional detour on its route to health reform implementation, it seems, perhaps because until the Supreme Court decides on the constitutionality of its “individual mandate” (oral arguments will be March 27), the fate of the law’s employer provisions has to be considered uncertain. Backpedaling also may be occurring with […]

Beauty and the Best

We have eliminated many forms of workplace discrimination and made great strides toward erasing others, says attorney Mark Schickman. Nonetheless, one form of discrimination—“Beauty Bias,” as coined by Stanford law professor Deborah Rhode—remains alive, well, and possibly inherent in the human condition.

DOL Extends Comment Period on Proposed Domestic Caregiver FLSA Exemption

Today the Labor Department extended the comment period for proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards exemption for domestic caregivers. To date the agency has already received a flood of comments on the proposed regulation which would remove domestic caregivers from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s current exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay. Currently, the FLSA provides […]

Smart Comp Strategies for Small Employers: How to Maximize Your Budget

Smaller businesses often can’t afford the resources that larger competitors can, says compensation expert David Wudyka, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have an effective compensation program. What’s Different About “Small Business”? When it comes to running compensation, small business have several challenges, says Wudyka, who is managing principal of Westminster Associates in Wrentham, Massachusetts. […]

IRS Releases 401(k) Compliance Check Survey Results

There are more than half a million 401(k) plans in the United States, covering 60 million Americans, says the IRS. That is just some of the information in the 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire Interim Report, which the IRS released on Feb. 16, 2012. The report summarizes survey responses from 401(k) plan sponsors that filed a […]

On Base: WHD Launches Enforcement Effort, Reaches Settlement with Army Employers

The Labor Department is taking its enforcement efforts onto military bases. DOL’s Wage and Hour Division this month announced that it is conducting a significant labor law enforcement effort on a multibillion dollar construction project at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Tex., focused on promoting contractor and subcontractor compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, […]