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.

What’s Your Market Position?

By Sharon McKnight, CCP, SPHR One of the primary elements of any compensation philosophy is the company’s stance on employee pay relative to the market. Essentially, there are three options: lead, lag, and lead-lag.

Pay Transparency: What It Is and What It Does

By Susan Schoenfeld, JD In 2014, in an effort to address the issue of pay transparency, President Obama signed Executive Order (EO) 13665, Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information, which prohibits federal contractors from discharging or discriminating in any way against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their own compensation or the […]

DOL Rescinds ERISA Guidance Discouraging Sustainable Investments

The U.S. Department of Labor on Oct. 21 reversed 2008 guidance that discouraged retirement plan fiduciaries and their investment advisers from considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when choosing companies for their portfolios. The reversal, made through a new interpretive bulletin that reinstates 1994 guidance, recognizes a growing consensus that fiduciary duty may in […]

Decision Steerage and Targeted Programs Improve Wellness Results

To achieve wellness program goals, employers should make healthier choices easier to access, and target populations that have chronic conditions. Encouragement from trusted leaders is seen as improving buy-in by sick population segments, and unions could in some ways be more effective than employers in achieving results, said a panel of experts at an Oct. […]

Annual Benefits Sign-Up Is Less Popular than Tax Season

Let’s just say it’s not most people’s favorite thing to do. Known in human resources offices as “Open Enrollment,” the annual ritual of choosing your medical plan, opting in or out of dental and vision coverage, and deciding how much money to put in your flexible spending account is, as they say, “part of growing […]

Market Performance, Pension Contributions Drive Rise in CEO Compensation

According to research released by The Conference Board (a global, independent business membership and research association), the median total compensation of CEOs of U.S. public companies in the Russell 3000 index soared 11.9% in 2014 over the previous year and as much as 34.7% over 2010. Equity awards (excluding stock options) represent 34.7% of the […]