Category: Benefits and Compensation

This topic provides guidance on how to handle compensation issues in a way that attracts and retains the best talent and advances the strategic goals of your business. You get news and tips on what’s going on nationally and in the states, and updates on changes in regulations, possible governmental action, and emerging compensation trends.

New Benchmarking Analysis Identifies Recent Trends in Balancing Benefit Costs and Attracting Top Talent

When employers have a sense of how their peers’ benefits and compensation approaches measure up to their own, they can more confidently identify opportunities for improvement. The Best-in-Class Benchmarking Analysis produced by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) examines the strategies and tactics used by high-performing organizations to control healthcare cost spending while competing for […]

banking

CMS Releases 2016-2025 Projections of National Health Expenditures Data

National health expenditure growth is expected to average 5.6% annually over 2016-2025, according to a report compiled by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary (OACT). These projections are constructed using a current-law framework and do not assume potential legislative changes over the projection period.

pension

DOL Proposes June 9 Delay for Fiduciary Rule, Opens Comment Periods

by Jane Meacham, Contributing Editor The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on March 1 proposed a 60-day delay to June 9 of its so-called fiduciary rule on investment advice conflicts of interest and related exemptions, pushing back the rule’s original effective date of April 10. The DOL also opened two comment periods related to the […]

bonus

Attention Hiring Managers: Too Little Pay Could Cost You Top Talent

The low unemployment rate, coupled with a looming labor shortage, has resulted in organizations having to work much harder to attract and retain top talent. In its annual 2017 Salary Guides, Randstad US, an HR service and staffing company, provides job seekers with insight into how their compensation stacks up with others and helps employers […]

Equal Pay: Was Pay Discrepancy Between Male and Female Scientists Legitimate?

A scientist who worked for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in Los Alamos discovered that a male coworker was making more money than she was for substantially equal work. Accordingly, she filed suit in Albuquerque federal district court, alleging discrimination on the basis of sex under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and violations of the federal Equal Pay Act (EPA).

Massachusetts

Commission Structure Doesn’t Justify Failure to Pay Wages Due at Termination

Commission payments often make up a significant portion of the compensation paid to employees who work in sales. The structure of commission payments varies from industry to industry and from region to region, but commissions serve the same basic purpose: financially motivating employees to increase their sales with the promise of receiving higher income.