Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Spring has sprung. The grass is green. The flowers are blooming. The trees are in full blossom. It’s that time of year again. Time for spring cleaning. Out with the old and in with the new. At least that’s my wife’s way of thinking.
Pay budget—always one of the most critical decisions of the year. What’s happening with pay budgets in the real world? How about bonuses? What are your competitors up to? Help us find out! Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. […]
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has reached an agreement with Alcoa Inc. to provide an additional $150 million in pension contributions to the company’s two largest pension plans, which cover more than 83,000 people.
Once we hire an employee, we provide full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage to the employee, spouse, and children. Are we able to request marriage certificates and birth certificates for eligible family members for the purpose of insurance benefits? We have found that employees will often list nonrelatives for insurance benefits (e.g., a boyfriend, […]
Update Dec. 21, 2009: President signs bill including COBRA subsidy extension In an unusual Saturday morning session on Dec. 19, the U.S. Senate voted 88-10 to pass legislation that would extend the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which President Barack Obama signed into law in […]
Yesterday’s Advisor covered reasons why HR managers should avoid Internet background checks using Google, Facebook, MySpace, and other websites. But that’s not the end of the story. In our last issue, an HR expert cautioned managers to avoid Internet background checks of potential hires. Legally, she’s right. Realistically, HR people are doing them anyway. The […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will pay over $33 million in back wages to resolve errors in calculating overtime for 86,680 employees nationwide. According to the DOL, Wal-Mart brought the problem to the agency’s attention after an internal audit raised concerns regarding overtime computations, particularly with respect to incentives […]
Sacramento lawmakers are debating a host of proposals that would impact employers. We’ll look at some of the key legislation that’s on the table.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces laws requiring certain federal contractors and subcontractors to prepare and maintain affirmative action programs, has launched a new program to give contractors advance warning that they’ve been targeted for a compliance audit.