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.

Agencies Add Safe Harbors to 90-day Rule for Health Plan Enrollment

Generally, waiting periods to enroll in health coverage cannot exceed 90 days, and eligibility conditions based solely on the lapse of a time period are permissible for no more than 90 days, under new final rules issued by the U.S. Departments of Labor Health and Human Services and the Treasury. In addition, the employer has […]

Mind Over Matter: Lessons from the Olympics

Oswald, CEO of BLR, offered his thoughts on mental toughness in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. So as each skier attacked the course, NBC’s cameras would show Miller watching the competition to see if they eclipsed his time. I could only imagine what it was like for him to watch competitor after competitor […]

Engagement? Retention? Train and Talk

[ go here for the first three T’s] Training Training is a reward. Top people want to keep their skills up and you need them to believe that the organization cares about keeping employee skills up to date. Development is both a management responsibility and an employee reward. What If We Train and They Leave? […]

The 5 T’s of Recognition and Retention

“Voluntarily Give Their Discretionary Effort” Some employees do just enough not to get fired; that’s not going to do it for you, says Katz. You want employees to “voluntarily give their discretionary effort.” Katz, who is with Penguin Human Resource Consulting, LLC, offered his tips in a recent BLR-sponsored webinar. The Unlimited Rewards Budget Who […]

10 Most Common Errors in Performance Rating

Pay for performance is the order of the day, but you can’t have pay for performance if you can’t measure performance in a meaningful way. Unfortunately,  there are significant pitfalls to avoid when conducting your performance reviews. In today’s Advisor, we’ll get tips from expert Armstrong on how to make performance appraisals more meaningful for […]

Performance Management: Do’s and Don’ts in the Real World

Makris, senior counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and Rhoma Young, of the HR consulting firm Rhoma Young & Associates, offered tips for ensuring that performance appraisals are used legally and effectively. Their suggestions came in a recent BLR®/HR Hero® audio conference. From a legal perspective, performance appraisals are important because they can help defend […]

Employee Reimbursements for Uniforms: When Must a Company Provide?

According to most state laws, all employees must be reimbursed for reasonably incurred business expenses. This includes employee uniforms in some cases, which is an area some employers like to push as an employee’s responsibility. Read on for more information on when it is the responsibility of the employer to either provide the uniform or […]

healthcare

ACA Play-or-Pay Safe Harbor: Will It Benefit You?

Employers with more than 50 full-time employees must offer health insurance to their employees, as mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Failure to do so will result in the assessment of an excise tax penalty. This dichotomy is commonly known as the “play or pay” rule under the ACA. The penalty is assessed for […]

ACA Play or Pay: Who is an Applicable Large Employer?

While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains many provisions, perhaps one of the most discussed is the “play or pay” provision. The ACA’s play-or-pay provision mandates that employers with 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees must offer group health benefits to full-time employees working, on average, 30 or more hours per week, or potentially pay a […]

AOL Debacle Highlights Need to Maintain HIPAA Privacy Practices

Although sponsors of group health plans have had their hands full sorting through the still-changing Affordable Care Act requirements, the recent uproar involving AOL CEO Tim Armstrong is a stark reminder of the need to stay vigilant on HIPAA privacy — even as companies wrestle publicly with health care costs. As has been widely reported, […]