Benefits

Benefits, Compensation

Which Comes First, the Pay or the Performance?

by on May 22, 2013, 8:10 AM  |  No comments yet
123RF Stock Photo

It’s an age-old negotiation. Pay me more and I will perform. Perform better and I will pay you.

So what comes first, the payment or the performance?

Hay Group’s Annual CEO Compensation Survey was released last week. The results show the highest weighting ever (31 percent) for long-term performance plans.

Was this a result of executive pay programs that have been re-geared with performance metrics since the advent of Say on Pay? Was this the result of CEOs performing better as more attention has been paid to their actions and behaviors? Or, was this caused by something else? Read more…

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Benefits, HR Management

How Far Can Employers Go In Mandating What Employees Eat?

by on May 16, 2013, 11:25 AM  |  2 Comments
123RF Stock Photo

I’ve yet to talk with someone about employee wellness without hearing about how an employer allows — if not actually provides — donuts or cupcakes or something similar at meetings.

The underlying message is this: the employer can’t be very serious about wellness if they’re still offering such junk food regularly.

I don’t disagree, but how far is too far? The comments on a post about junk food-free workplaces suggests barring people from bringing in their own food is simply a bridge too far. Read more…

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Benefits, HR News & Trends

Finally – Labor Dept. Sets Deadline to Tell Employees About State Exchanges

by on May 10, 2013, 10:17 AM  |  No comments yet
Health Care Reform

The U.S. Department of Labor just cleared up a piece of the ambiguity lurking in your health care reform communication strategy!

You may remember that the DOL delayed the original deadline to send employees notification of the state exchanges. Well, the timing is now set: By October 1, 2013, you must tell all your employees about the state health care exchanges.

They’ve crafted a model notice to work from. All the details are here. Read more…

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Benefits

Health Perks For Executives May Trigger Penalties Under Obamacare

by on May 9, 2013, 12:20 PM  |  No comments yet
Barack Obama

Many executives have long enjoyed perks like free health care and better health benefits for themselves and their families. But under a little noticed anti-discrimination provision in the federal health law, such advantages could soon trigger fines of up to $500,000.

Employers “should be more concerned about this than anything else” in the law, because many are in violation and the penalties can be stiff, says Jay Starkman, chief executive of Engage PEO in St. Petersburg, Fla., which offers human resources services and advises clients on the health law.

The provision says that employers who offer more generous benefits to highly paid workers could face fines of $100 a day for every worker who doesn’t get the perks, up to $500,000. Read more…

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Benefits, Compensation

Even Monkeys Demand Equal Pay For Equal Work

by on May 3, 2013, 10:20 AM  |  No comments yet
Photo by istockphoto.com

By Lorene Schaefer

In 1925, the famed Scopes Monkey Trial occurred in Tennessee. The public feverishly debated whether evolution contradicted certain religious teachings and whether humans, viewed by many to be a superior lot, could be related in any respect to monkeys.

A recent video on monkey behavior (and, perhaps, human psychology?) is certainly telling.

Briefly, two monkeys are given the same job, but are rewarded differently. The slighted monkey receives watery cucumbers rather than juicy grapes like his co-worker-monkey does for the same work. The reaction of the slighted monkey is priceless!

Here’s the video: Read more…

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Benefits, HR News & Trends

Aetna Cuts Predictions For First Year Enrollments Under Obamacare

by on May 2, 2013, 8:42 AM  |  No comments yet
Health care reform11

In a new sign that implementing the health law could take longer than expected, insurer Aetna said Tuesday it lowered the number of medical policies it expects to sell through online marketplaces that open for business in October.

“This is going to be a slow uptake,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini told investment analysts on a quarterly call to discuss financial results. “The process required to sign up, to get the subsidies, is going to take some time. And I think this is a two-year ramp to get the individual exchanges up to a level where customers are going to feel appropriate signing up. And so our estimates of what we believe … enrollment [will be] are dropping for the first year.”

He didn’t give a number, and insurers rarely disclose projections for specific business lines. But Aetna offered nothing to challenge perceptions that it will approach the Affordable Care Act’s subsidized marketplaces, also known as exchanges, with great deliberation. Read more…

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Benefits, HR News & Trends

Yahoo’s Upgraded Maternity Leave: Good, But Not Best in Silicon Valley

by on May 1, 2013, 12:20 PM  |  1 comment
Photo by istockphoto.com

Although most observers are praising CEO Marissa Mayer and Yahoo’s upgraded maternity leave policy that gives 16 weeks of paid leaves to new Moms and 8 weeks to new Dads, here’s another perspective: although it’s good, it’s not the most generous among Silicon Valley companies.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

The new policy will allow mothers to take up to four months of paid leave. Parents who adopt will be able to take eight weeks off from work.

Yahoo will also give new parents $500 to spend on baby items and related services. New pets will also get some freebies, Yahoo said. Employees can get Yahoo-branded gifts for their cats and dogs.” Read more…

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Benefits, HR News & Trends

Despite Glitches, President Says That Obamacare is “Pretty Much Already in Place”

by on May 1, 2013, 7:44 AM  |  No comments yet
obama jobless

President Barack Obama said Tuesday he expected some “glitches and bumps” in the road to full implementation of his health care law.

“That’s pretty much true of every government program that’s ever been set up,” Obama said. “We’ve got a great team in place, we are pushing very hard to make sure that we’re hitting all the deadlines and the benchmarks.”

During the White House news conference, Obama also said the law is “pretty much already in place” for 85 percent to 90 percent of Americans who have health insurance. For those people, the law has made it possible for many adult children up to age 26 to stay on a parent’s health insurance plan and improved coverage of preventive health care services, he said. Read more…

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Benefits, Talent Management

First Flex Work, Now Debate Over Yahoo’s New Parental Leave Policy

by on May 1, 2013, 7:00 AM  |  No comments yet
workflex_ready

Yahoo’s making flex work news again with an announcement Tuesday that it’s beefing up paid parental leave for men and women.

Up to 16 weeks of paid leave, with benefits, for new Moms (8 weeks for new Dads) is heartening news from the tech company whose CEO, Marissa Mayer, came under fire recently for announcing a telecommuting ban.

As you can imagine, social media was all a twitter with Yahoo’s leave decision, with some employees seeing the move as further proof that working parents get special treatment when it comes to flexible work arrangements. Read more…

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Benefits, HR Management

Health Risk Assessments: CVS Takes a Smart Step on the Road to Wellness

by on Apr 24, 2013, 10:20 AM  |  3 Comments
CVS EARNS

By now you’ve probably heard about CVS pharmacy asking its employees to have their doctor complete a voluntary health screening (Health Risk Assessment) by May 2014 or they’ll be required to pay an additional $50 a month for their group health insurance.

Of course, many sources have blown this up by saying that CVS wants to get their hot little hands on employees’ health information so they can start firing unhealthy people.

This is an excellent example of how much the media doesn’t know about group health care by portraying CVS like the big, bad wolf. I’ve already written about this topic, and if you speak with any insurance broker, they’ll tell you that the process of adding a voluntary Health Risk Assessment to a group health plan isn’t new. Nor is this an evil plot by CVS to ransack employee health records so they can fire sick people. Read more…

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