Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In the last few years, the market has seen a shift toward the use of generic drugs. Your prescription drug plan probably encourages it, and so does the local drug store; you can get a 30-day supply of many generic drugs for just $4 at several of the big name pharmacies. Most benefits professionals can […]
Here’s a chance for you to interact with the blog editors from Thompson Publishing Group’s HR and benefits group. If you have a question or comment about flexible benefits cafeteria plan enrollment, send it along! In the meantime, here’s John Iekel, managing editor of the Flex Plan Handbook, responding to just that kind of question. […]
The amount of back wages and overtime pay collected by the U.S. Department of Labor for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act is down slightly — but don’t assume that means DOL is no longer on the warpath. According to data provided to Smart HR Manager, DOL collected almost $130 million in back wages […]
There was a popular song in the 1970s telling listeners that the hardest word to say is “sorry.” You may agree with that, generally speaking. But for those who are less musically inclined, and those whose companies are suffering in the current bleak economy, different words likely come to mind: Words like “layoff,” “furlough,” or […]
The scandals were shocking, but at first, they seemed to impact just a few companies. The name Enron became familiar to everyone. The next wave of meltdowns took down some large investment banks, such as Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns, and more people were affected. The public outcry over how executives at these companies were […]
At some companies, worthwhile projects fall by the wayside due to lack of sufficient time and resources. Not so at eni, where teams of employees who successfully complete special projects are rewarded with a companywide, all-expenses-paid trip to an exotic location. How It Works The travel incentive program was implemented more than a decade ago […]
by Warren Nelson and Karl Lindegren, Fisher & Phillips, LLP In today’s tough economy, employers worldwide have been forced to shed key personnel in order to minimize costs. Companies large and small have reduced their workforce by drastic numbers, many left with no choice but to lay off valued employees. However, in the wake of […]
As part of the Human Resources team who has significant compensation expertise, you may be feeling a little, well, left out. The climate around executive compensation is complicated right now, including both increased regulation and increased outrage (not coincidental, by the way). It may have your compensation committee bringing in the big guns—external resources called […]
We get a fair number of questions about the minimum wage in California, so we felt it was worth a mention that it’s been $8 per hour since January 1, 2008 and remains there now. Don’t forget that some cities throughout the state impose their own, higher minimum wage rules (in San Francisco, for example, […]
In her book Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder: Creating Value by Investing in Your Workforce, Canadian researcher Jody Heymann analyzes hundreds of interviews with front line employees to C-suite executives and concludes that your company can profit more from improving worker conditions than cutting wages, benefits, and other workforce expenses. As an example […]