Tag: benefits

Metrics: Don’t Go to Management Without Them

Metrics for Compensation and Benefits Sullivan suggests that rather than trying to use a statistical method to evaluate pay fairness, use an employee survey on perceptions of pay fairness compared with work expectations. Here are the measures he suggests: Amount in total compensation and benefits costs needed to generate a dollar of revenue. (Usually expressed […]

10 Ways to Curb the Most Common Types of FMLA Abuse

What are the most common types of FMLA abuse? Do you have employees who might be abusing the FMLA system? In a CER webinar titled “Stop FMLA/CFRA Abuse: 10 Ways Employers Are Combating Chronic Call-Ins and Fraud,” Marc L. Jacuzzi, Esq., differentiated between suspected abuse versus fraudulent use of the system, and also outlined some […]

The Four Questions to Ask Before Switching to PTO

Hagan, a partner in the Dallas office of law firm Sarles & Ouimet, LLP, made his suggestions at a recent BLR webinar. Here are his four questions: Question 1: Will an Anticipated Change Affect Existing, Accrued Leave? If you anticipate making a change that might affect existing accrued vacation, you will have to determine if […]

PTO Plans vs. Traditional: Plusses and Pitfalls

Absences, like terminations, can be voluntary or involuntary; however, unlike terminations the distinction between voluntary and involuntary absences is not typically determined by who initiates the absence, says Hagan, who is a partner in the Dallas office of Sarles & Ouimet, LLP. He made his suggestions at a recent BLR webinar. Involuntary absences are employee […]

DOL’s Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request Grants Premium Authority to PBGC

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its budget request for the federal fiscal year (FY) 2013 on Feb. 13, as part of the budget proposal President Obama sent to Congress. The DOL budget request for FY 2013 is $12.0 billion, down from $12.6 billion for FY 2012. The department’s press release emphasized this reduction, […]

Washington State Legalizes Same-sex Marriage; Will Others Follow Suit?

And then there were seven: Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) on Feb. 13 signed a measure making same-sex marriage legal in that state. Washington joins Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Iowa and the District of Columbia as U.S. jurisdictions with that distinction. The Washington law goes into effect on June 7. The Washington […]

Unconstitutional Individual Mandate Would Obviate Need for Employer Mandate, Benefits Council Says

If the individual mandate under health care reform is struck down, it will render the employer mandate meaningless, the American Benefits Council (ABC) argues in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. ABC does not argue about the constitutionality of the individual mandate; instead it says that it is non-severable from the law’s insurance […]

COBRA and ARRA Rules Misread in Slapping Employer with $500 Notice Penalty

Here’s one positive pattern in COBRA coverage lawsuits: Even if a plan administrator violated the COBRA law, if it acts reasonably under the circumstances, courts are inclined to mitigate the amount of any penalties. But even though the law is more than 25 years old, case law shows there’s still a learning curve about its […]