Month: February 2013

Pregnancy, grandchild care present FMLA questions

by Tammy Binford Questions surrounding employer obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) seem endless. Recently, questions on how to handle a pregnant employee wanting to go against doctor’s orders and when leave should be granted to an employee wanting to take care of a grandchild were put to attorneys. Here is what […]

DOL Uses Demographics to Push Back Against Critics of Obama’s Minimum Wage Proposals

The Obama administration is working to keep its minimum wage hike proposal in the public eye, and simultaneously appears to be pushing back against critics who charge that raising the minimum wage would not help working families. On Feb. 28, the U.S. Department of Labor released a report detailing the demographic characteristics of minimum wage […]

Benefits and Perks for 2013–What’s Really Happening?

Time to think about recruiting and retention again. And that means thinking total rewards. What’s happening with benefits and perks in 2013? What are your competitors up to? Help us find out! Please participate in our brief survey—sponsored by Aflac—and see how the perks you offer stack up against those of other successful companies. We’ll […]

Tennessee House passes guns-in-cars bill

Update: On March 14, 2013, Governor Bill Haslam signed SB 0142, which allows person with a valid handgun carry permit to transport and store a firearm or firearm ammunition in the permit holder’s privately-owned motor vehicle in public or private parking areas under certain conditions.  by Kara Shea and Sara Anne Quinn On Thursday, the […]

How Do You Establish Effective Metrics for Your Training Program?

“Training is an area that can be difficult to quantify,” Prince says. “However, it may be helpful to look at metrics that target the type of training and what it was intended to accomplish. For instance: Cost of sales training as a percent of total sales; Increase in hours of sales training compared with increases […]

4 Factors for Effective Safety Training

The “Trainer’s Corner” experts in our sister publication, OSHA Compliance Advisor, suggests that, to teach adult trainees, four factors are key: Motivation. Like a door, the mind has to be opened before any new information can enter. The key to getting it open, say our experts, is relevance. What you’re learning about has to be […]

ACA Challenges–What’s ‘Affordable’ and What’s ‘Minimum’ Coverage?

Under what circumstances will an employer owe an Employer Shared Responsibility payment? In 2014, says Simon, senior legal editor at BLR®,  if an employer meets the 50 full-time employee threshold, the employer generally will be liable for an Employer Shared Responsibility payment only if either: The company doesn’t provide coverage to substantially all (95% or […]

Pay-for-performance management: Assessing your program

After implementing a pay-for-performance program, how do you ensure it is effective? How do you assess it? Can you improve its effectiveness even with a tight budget? These are just a few of the considerations for HR professionals after a pay-for-performance system has been implemented.

IRS Finds High Percentage of Errors on W-2 Reporting of 401(k) Elective Deferrals

Many employers that sponsor 401(k) retirement plans make mistakes in the way they report elective deferrals on Form W-2, the federal tax agency’s Wage and Tax Statement sent to employees. IRS on Feb. 13 said on its website that its Employee Plans Compliance Unit sampled filings from employers that provided Forms W-2 and found 75 […]

Risks of Noncompliance with Employment Law Increase Say BLR Editors

BLR’s HR editors recently shared their insights about challenges in 2013. In today’s Advisor, why compliance is going to get tougher in 2013, plus an introduction to the guide especially geared to smaller or one-person HR departments. For 2013, it’s likely that the risks of noncompliance with employment-related laws are just going to get higher, […]