Month: December 2012

Managers Think It’s All About the Money (Employees Disagree)

Special from the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, Las Vegas When employees and their managers are asked about what they value at work, the answers are surprisingly different, says consultant Andrew Botwin SPHR. That disconnect will result in expensive turnover. Botwin, who is CEO of SPC (Strategy People Culture) Consulting, offered his engagement tips at BLR’s […]

Reform’s PCORI Fees Must Be Paid for Retiree-only and COBRA Plan Members

Employer sponsors of health plans must count members in retiree-only plans and COBRA-eligible plans for purposes of paying into health reform’s Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Furthermore, employees covered under two or more “specified” policies can be counted (and taxed) more than once. The IRS final rule on employer payment of PCORI fees disregarded employer requests to exclude […]

Use Employee Surveys to Measure Engagement with Training

The answer to the question of how to motivate and engage employees is locked away in the employees, and in their values, beliefs and needs. Each of us has a unique set of motivational drivers. Unless a leader can align with these, it will be difficult to motivate and engage employees over the long term. […]

Making the Pitch for Your 2013 Compensation Plan

Csizmar, who is founder and principal of CMC Compensation Group, offered his tips at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR. Start with your compensation strategy. Says Csizmar. You have to insure that what you recommend is in line with the company’s compensation philosophy. Take into account management bias. Yes, every company has biases, Csizmar says. […]

Common Control Means COBRA’s Small Employer Exception Does Not Apply

Here’s a reminder that for COBRA compliance purposes, small employers must count their employee population differently if they are under common control. Recently, an employer was sued for providing just three, rather than 18, months of COBRA coverage. Because it had a workforce of fewer than 20 employees, the employer tried to fend off those […]

Final pay rules in California: Understanding the waiting-time penalty

What is the waiting-time penalty? Under California Labor Code Section 203, employers will be assessed a penalty for any willful failure of on-time payment of any part of final wages due to a departing employee. Remember that wages earned are due and payable immediately upon discharge for involuntary terminations. For resignations with at least 72 […]

California Pregnancy Regulations Revised

The state Fair Employment and Housing Commission has just announced the approval of changes to the state’s pregnancy regulations. The changes go into effect on December 30, 2012. They make significant changes to the existing law, including:

Die Hard … with a Christmas vengeance

Litigation Value: $50,000 or so, depending on how much harm comes out of an essentially unsupervised holiday party It is the annual Christmas episode of The Office, and it’s bittersweet as Jim and Pam talk about how this will be the last Christmas party for the both of them at Dunder Mifflin Scranton–much like it […]

It’s time for flu season safeguards in the workplace

by Tammy Binford The headlines are alarming. A virulent flu strain is striking in at least some parts of the country earlier than usual, possibly signaling a rougher-than-normal flu season. Employers who ignore the flu threat risk turning their workplaces into a flu-fueled fever frenzy that gets worse throughout the winter and into spring. A […]

Insights from a CEO: Removing the stigma of HR as a cost center

Consider the human resources department: Is it a center for strategic thinking or a cost center–necessary but still a burden on the bottom line rather than a contributor to profits? That’s one question to explore as HR professionals work to earn the “seat at the table” they’ve long sought. Recently, a group of HR professionals […]