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From health insurance to stock options to paid vacation, employees love perks. They can help in efforts to recruit the best applicants as well as retaining and engaging your top performers. Recently, BLR surveyed 1,493 HR professionals about the types of perks they offer employees. Paid holidays is the number one perk provided by the […]
by Boyd Byers Pop diva Lady Gaga affectionately refers to her fans as “little monsters.” But she recently became acquainted with a big monster― the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Jennifer O’Neill, who worked as Gaga’s personal assistant, sued the pop star’s company, Mermaid Touring, Inc., for FLSA violations. She says she was continuously on […]
by Gary S. Fealk Employers should be aware that big changes are on the horizon as a result of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the law as constitutional last year. This article briefly discusses provisions addressing state health insurance exchanges and the mandate that employers […]
By Martin Simon If an employer covered by the Affordable Care Act play-or-pay requirements decides to play by providing health insurance coverage, it could still be hit with penalties if the coverage is “unaffordable.” Coverage is unaffordable if one or more of the employer’s full-time employees receives a premium tax credit because he or she […]
by Michael Bindner The IRS has issued Notice 2012-58, which describes safe-harbor methods employers may use to determine which employees are “full-time” workers for purposes of the “shared responsibility” penalty of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is often referred to as Obamacare. Notice 2012-59, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the […]
by Tammy Binford “Team building” is a term that gets a lot of buzz among those interested in fostering collaboration and camaraderie in the workplace. Executives are eager to sponsor activities to nurture creativity and productivity, and they sometimes focus their efforts on helping employees have fun at work. With March Madness in full swing, […]
by Tammy Binford When Yahoo! Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer decided her company would be better off if home-based workers relocated to the office, she gave a lot of people a lot to talk about. And telecommuters, HR professionals, executives, and bloggers sounded off in a big way. The furor started with a memo in February […]
Recently, BLR conducted a survey of 1,261 HR professionals to find out about the retirement benefits their organizations offer employees. Most respondents (86%) say they offer either a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement savings plan to employees. Employee contributions While a high number of employers represented in the BLR survey offer retirement benefits, only 33% automatically […]
by Michael G. Petrie Thanks to confusing and vague terminology used in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), it is far from easy to comprehend the numerous rules and exceptions that determine whether an employee must be compensated for certain activities. While the question of whether an employee is performing a compensable work task […]
by Tammy Binford Children are taught from the time they can speak to be nice: Say “please” and “thank you,” treat others with respect, empathize with others. But how much of that early training is evident in the workplace? There the ambitious and battle-scarred are likely to remember another lesson they’ve learned along the way: […]