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.

Daniel Pink: Money’s Not the Motivator We Think It Is

Pink, author of popular management books including his latest, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, offered examples of how employers give today’s employees the autonomy they want—and that you need them to have.  Is Management an Anachronism?  Management is not a God-given mandate, says Pink, it’s a technology from the 1850s. It’s designed […]

The 5 Key Comp Trends for 2011

Wudyka, who is founder and managing principal of Westminster Associates, a Wrentham, MA based, full-service HR and compensation consultancy, forecast the following trends at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR. 1. Fewer Salary Freezes The number of employers freezing salaries continues to decline: 32 percent froze salaries in 2009. 12 percent did so in 2010. […]

Make Smart Post-Recession, Performance-Based, Pay Decisions

How can you make smart decisions on pay budgets, merit budgets, and overall compensation given the economic turmoil of the last few years? Consultant David Wudyka tells us what’s going on and what we can do about it. Wudyka is founder and managing principal of Westminster Associates, a Wrentham, MA based, full-service HR and compensation […]

When Handing Out Severance Pay, Don’t Forget Employees on Leave

If an employer grants severance pay to laid-off employees, it must also pay those who were on leave for disabilities at the time of the layoff. A California auto plant failed to do so and has now agreed to pay into a $6 million settlement fund (along with Toyota) to settle an Americans With Disabilities Act […]

Be Aware: IRS Eyes Join DOL’s on Your Form 5500

If you file the Form 5500, you know what an odious exercise that can be. And you’d better get it right. Not only is the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) examining the form you file — so is the IRS. The DOL wants the forms to be complete and accurate, of course, […]

Verizon Strike Raises COBRA Coverage Issues

I often feel like raising a picket sign when I look at my phone bill, but that’s another story — right now, I just want to use the news of the Verizon strike to remind you of its COBRA continuation coverage implications. As has been widely reported, approximately 45,000 unionized Verizon workers went on strike […]

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Successor Company May Be Liable for Benefits Claim on Predecessor Plan

In this time of corporate restructuring, successor liability in relation to ERISA benefit plans is something to plan carefully in all of its dimensions before complicated, expensive claims take you by surprise. A case involving a top-hat deferred compensation plan — in which a federal court denied a successor employer’s motion to dismiss it from […]

You Found Compensation ‘Disparities,’ Now What?

It’s important to recognize that you need to be able to document an employee’s compensation history, not just their current salary, says consultant Judith Mickey. Look at the employment lifecycle:  Start rates (identify overqualified applicants) Pay increase documentation Pay decrease documentation Wage freezes, etc.  Mickey, of HR Consultants, Inc., offered her comments at the recent […]

Fed Agencies Packing in More PPACA Health Reform Rules

When it comes to implementing health reform, the federal government agencies definitely are not taking a summer vacation. Just this week, new rules on communicating health plan information to consumers, health insurance exchanges and premium tax credits have been issued. Here’s a quick list: 1. Communicating health plan information. The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health […]