Tag: benefits

Severance Agreements: Drafting Do’s and Don’ts for Avoiding EEOC Attention

Van Parys, who is with Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP in Sacramento, offered his tips at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition held recently in Orlando. Recent EEOC Actions Two recently filed lawsuits, in which severance agreements were called  overly broad and unenforceable, may help employers fashion their own severance agreements, says Van Parys. EEOC […]

Managing the Severance Meeting—It’s a Business Transaction

Van Parys, who is with Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP in Sacramento, offered his tips at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition held recently in Orlando. Challenges by EEOC and NLRB To avoid having your severance agreement challenged by the EEOC or NLRB, says Van Parys, include language to the effect that the former employee […]

Vacation, Leave, and Time Off—Who’s Offering What?

Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: What kind of paid leaves are offered? PTO or separate vacation and sick leave? How much time off for what length of service? Is donating […]

Pros and Cons of Opt-Out Employee 401(k) Plans

Retirement saving rightfully gets a lot of press, since it affects all of us. One of the most widely talked about retirement vehicles is the 401(k) plan, in which employees can make tax-deferred contributions to plans administered through their employer. It’s become the default retirement savings scheme for most people, replacing pensions, and there are […]

Flexible Scheduling: The Key to Employee Satisfaction?

We all know the cost of employee turnover is high. It only gets higher as the unemployment rate drops since it can take longer to fill a vacant role—thus increasing the time to regain productivity. Keeping good employees onboard is key to an organization’s success—but how can an employer increase employee satisfaction and thus increase […]

EEOC Files First ADA Lawsuit Against Employee Wellness Program

The first direct federal challenge to an employee wellness program’s legality under the Americans with Disabilities Act was filed Aug. 20 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The employer’s program did not qualify as “voluntary” under the ADA because the one employee who refused to participate was forced to bear the entire cost of […]

The 4 Leadership Lessons I Learned from ‘Dead Poets Society’

Keating encourages the boys to embrace their individualism, think independently, and pursue their passions. This leads them on a path of self-discovery that clashes with the rigid culture of the conservative institution they attend. Keating’s methods ultimately cost him his job, but they win him the respect and affection of his students. In watching the […]

‘Could’ Versus ‘Would’ Is Important Difference in Fiduciary Acts, 4th Circuit Says in Tatum

An appeals court decision coming on the heels of a recent Supreme Court stripping the presumption of prudence for fiduciaries may raise the stakes even higher for plan sponsors. A panel of judges in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals required that fiduciaries make a decision about company stock in their retirement plan based […]

Use Internet to Find Missing DC Participants, DOL Says in Revamped Guidance

The U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. 14 issued a new set of guidance for plan sponsors about tracking missing defined contribution retirement plan participants and distributing their assets. It takes into account vastly improved Internet search capabilities that have emerged in the decade since its last instructions about obligations to missing participants. Field Assistance […]