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5 Bottom-Line Compensation Cost-Savers

Special from Atlanta—SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition In yesterday’s Advisor, Payscale, Inc.’s Stacey Carroll, M.B.A., CCP, SPHR. offered key charts for evaluating compensation levels. Today, one more chart and Carroll’s cost-saving suggestions, plus an introduction to the checklist-based audit system that helps you find problems before the feds do. Here’s a chart that will help […]

Do You Measure Your Onboarding Results?

Onboarding is key to any HR unit. It’s a critical time in an employee’s early development and sets the stage for the rest of his or her time with your organization. Just as with meeting a new person, first impressions matter.

Get Prepared for Emergency Preparedness Training

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires companies to be equipped and prepared for various kinds of emergencies. The agency states in detail the exits that must be available (1910.37). It also requires written emergency plans for most companies (1910.38), an evacuation plan, and training for employees regarding the plan. Regulations for fire protection […]

Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors: Front-Burner Issue Again

by Kara E. Shea Independent contractors, by definition, are self-employed. Because they aren’t employees, they aren’t covered by employment, labor, and related tax laws. As a result, some employers may be tempted to reclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid taxes, benefits, record-keeping requirements, overtime, and other expenses. Wage and Hour Compliance Manual Contractors are […]

Law or no law, paid sick leave generating buzz among employers

Love it or hate it, paid sick leave is an idea gaining momentum across the country. A handful of states and local governments have passed laws in the last five years guaranteeing the leave for a good many private-sector workers.  Connecticut blazed the trail by enacting a law in 2011 covering “service workers” that went […]

Texas AFL-CIO seeks to join fight to save overtime rules

A group of labor organizations is attempting to save the new overtime rules from almost certain death under the Trump administration. The Texas AFL-CIO on December 9 moved to join a lawsuit challenging the rules, saying that if the president-elect drops the government’s defense of the regulation as predicted, the union group will see it […]

DOMA Invalidation Complicates Surviving-spouse Beneficiary Matters

Now that the federal Defense of Marriage Act has been invalidated, some same-gender surviving spouses are asking retirement plan sponsors to take a second look at their previously denied eligibility for a death benefit. A favorable court ruling in a newly filed case could further complicate beneficiary matters for plan sponsors. The case was recently […]