Category: Benefits and Compensation

This topic provides guidance on how to handle compensation issues in a way that attracts and retains the best talent and advances the strategic goals of your business. You get news and tips on what’s going on nationally and in the states, and updates on changes in regulations, possible governmental action, and emerging compensation trends.

Executive Compensation—The “Third Payroll”

There are different types of incentives for executives, and taxation becomes increasingly important in compensation planning, says Wudyka, who is managing principal of Westminster Associates in Wrentham, MA. His tips came at a recent BLR/HRhero-sponsored webinar. Motivating Executives Is a Challenge Motivating executives is a challenge, says Wudyka, because their level of base compensation is […]

Retaliation—Policy Must-Haves and Prevention Must-Dos

Pritikin, founder of Proactive Lawsuit Prevention, made her comments at SHRM’s Employment Law and Legislative Conference, held recently in Washington, DC. Retaliation Policy Must-Haves Pritikin suggest that employers include the following in their anti-retaliation policies: Make a standalone commitment against retaliation—it’s the number one EEOC claim! Define retaliation Give a specific examples including “zone of […]

Flex, Fitness, Financial planning, Free Food, Concierge? Benefits Survey Results

For example: About 38 percent offer wellness programs About one third offer flextime, only about one fifth offer telecommuting, and nearly 64 percent offer a flexible spending account About 21 percent think their benefits are more generous than their competitor’s and about 42 percent think their benefits are about the same (although 30 percent don’t […]

Unwanted Scrutiny: Feds Investigate Self-funded Health Plans and Stop-loss

The federal government seems to be fishing around for evidence showing that self-insured health health plans will siphon off healthy lives from state-run insurance exchanges (a cornerstone of reform). On April 26, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and IRS/Treasury issued a set of questions about the use of stop-loss […]

Rewarding Hard Work Is a Common Mistake

Here are three more of Erdle’s six compensation mistakes. (Erdle is founder of Erdle Compensation Consulting, www.erdleconsulting.net.) [Go here for mistakes 1, 2, and 3] 4. Rewarding Hard Work Typically, you’re not trying to reward hard work, Erdle says; you’re trying to reward an outcome. The reason? Employees can work hard and still not get […]

The 6 Most Common Compensation Mistakes

He typically finds that some employees are paid too little (and likely to jump ship at the first opportunity) while others—whose specialties were desperately needed—make more than they should (and that’s robbing profits). To make matters worse, he says, no one knows which is which. Here are six of the most common compensation mistakes Erdle […]

Employer Reporting under Health Reform — How Much Is Too Much, IRS Wants to Know

Beginning in 2014, employers that sponsor health plans will have to watch closely if any employees qualify for a premium tax credit, triggered whenever the employer-sponsored coverage is unaffordable, or does not provide minimum value. On April 26, the IRS requested comments on how to determine whether a health plan provides “minimum value.” It did […]

IRS Sets HSA, HDHP Limits for 2013

Employers with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that make it possible for employees to open health savings accounts (HSAs) have plenty of lead time to prepare for 2013. The IRS on April 27 issued Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2012-26, which contains the HSA and HDHP limits for calendar year 2013. The HSA annual limits and the […]

IRS Proposes New Benefit Fees on Employer Health Plans

About a year from now, employers and plan administrators will be preparing to pay a fee to fund the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The IRS on April 17 (77 Fed. Reg. 22691) issued proposed regulations on the fee. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) created the PCORI fee to promote research […]

Can You Explore Employees’ Personal Devices at Work?

Legality of Accessing Personal Devices Your company can manage the risks associated with BYOD by adopting policies and agreements that fit your risk tolerance, trust assessment, and regulatory context, says Chapman, who is an associate with DiMuroGinsberg in Alexandria, Virginia and a contributor to Virginia Employment Law Letter. However, she adds, the only way to […]