Articles tagged 'Benefits'

Benefits, Compensation

Which Comes First, the Pay or the Performance?

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…

Benefits, HR News & Trends

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

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…

Benefits

Health Perks For Executives May Trigger Penalties Under Obamacare

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…

Benefits, Compensation

Even Monkeys Demand Equal Pay For Equal Work

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…

Benefits, HR News & Trends

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

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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…

Benefits, HR News & Trends

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

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…

Benefits, Talent Management

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

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…

HR News & Trends, Legal Issues

Be Careful What You Wish For: Congress May Allow “Comp Time”

Comp time

By Ted Boehm

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider amending the federal Fair Labor Standards Act to permit private-sector employers to offer compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation.

The fast-tracked Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406) was approved by a House committee only eight days after its introduction.

Under the proposal, eligible non-union employees could agree to a comp-time arrangement “in writing or [in an] otherwise verifiable record.” The policy could be implemented for eligible unionized employees via a collective bargaining agreement. Participating employees would then receive at least 1.5 hours of comp time for each overtime hour worked. Read more…

HR News & Trends

Weekly Wrap: Are Benefits Forever? This Conference Has the Answer

Print

I just spent most of the week in Las Vegas at the inaugural Health and Benefits Leadership Conference sponsored by Human Resource Executive magazine, and after having benefits information pounded into my head for three days, I return from Sin City with two distinct thoughts:

  1. This new conference seems well on its way to becoming THE go-to annual event for benefits professionals. With a reported 500 attendees and 700 people attending, the new Health and Benefits Leadership Conference not only seems popular but is also scheduled at a better time than the longstanding EBN Benefits Forum & Expo (spring vs. fall, and BEFORE benefits pros make decisions on changes for the coming year). Plus, it seems to have a lot more energy and pizazz than the EBN event. I should know; I’ve attended a number of Benefits Forums and they don’t have half the zing I found at this one. Read more…
Benefits, HR Management

The Workplace Ethics of Not Hiring Tobacco Users

123RF Stock Photo

As more employers consider how to reduce the percentage of tobacco users in their workforces, one policy in particular has raised eyebrows and hackles more than others: No-hire tobacco policies.

Today, it’s mostly health care systems implementing these policies barring the hiring of tobacco users. They easily argue the importance of employing a workforce that boldly and uniformly stands for healthy lifestyle habits.

On the surface, it’s hard not to agree with the policy. And since health workers are the least healthy among us, perhaps we should consider this a laudable stand by their employers. But once you burrow into the ethical considerations, you may discover what a complex, divisive issue this is. Read more…