Tag: employees

Massachusetts

Out to Lunch? Maybe Not, in Massachusetts . . .

Most Massachusetts employers are required by law to provide “meal breaks” for their employees. However, in many industries, it isn’t always feasible for employees to leave the premises during lunch or even to stop working while they’re eating. If employees work through their meal breaks, must they be paid for that time? What if they […]

Wellness programs

IRS Warns Against Using Wellness Incentives to Skirt Employment Taxes

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking to discourage arrangements in which employees can obtain large wellness incentive payments in exchange for a relatively minor after-tax contribution. Contrary to their promoters’ claims, these setups cannot enable employers to finance wellness incentives solely by reducing their employment tax liability, the IRS warned.

flourishing

Creative Ways to Boost Productivity

Productivity concerns affect the entire organization. If the employer needs more productivity, either the existing employees must make that happen through productivity gains, or more employees must be hired. Either way, Human Resources (HR) is involved, directly or indirectly, through communications, training, hiring, or implementing new programs.

How to Reduce Presenteeism

Presenteeism refers to the situation in which employees are at work, but they are not as productive as they could be because they’re not feeling well—but they’re not feeling sick enough to take a day off, or they don’t have days off to take.

How to Keep Older Workers Engaged on the Job

There are a lot of factors at play keeping employees in the workforce longer than before. For example, for many years, pensions have been on the decline (only a small minority of employers offer them now—meaning employees have more responsibility to save for their own retirement and may need to stay working longer in order […]

EEOC

Mistakes to Avoid During Workplace Investigations

Workplace investigations can be time consuming and exhausting—but, despite that, they’re not a time where it’s okay to cut corners. When conducting an investigation, the organization must always remember that it’s not only seeking to resolve the issue at hand, it’s also seeking to minimize the risk of future lawsuits and do everything properly in […]

health

Health Benefit Costs Still Rising Worldwide, Survey Finds

The cost of employer-provided healthcare benefits around the globe continues to climb with little relief in sight, according to a survey of health insurers by Willis Towers Watson. Insurers attribute this trend to the cost of hospital/inpatient and outpatient medical services, advanced medical technology, and the overuse and overprescribing of services.