• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

A Texas court ruling could affect your group health plan

04/20/2023
The Affordable Care Act requires group health plans to follow the recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force and cover certain preventive services cost-free. That’s why COVID shots are free. That’s also why childhood immunizations are cost-free. No longer, at least temporarily.

Start developing your open-enrollment communications plan now

04/19/2023
Experts say HR should begin making plans for open enrollment at least six months before employees make their benefits choices. If your 2024 open-enrollment period will start in November, that means your preparations must begin within weeks.

A father-daughter chat about money and financial literacy

04/13/2023
April is National Financial Literacy Month. Payroll is the company department holding employees’ money, so take some time to educate them about it.

How much and when? The increase in the FLSA’s salary level for exempts is near (or not)

04/04/2023
Let’s be clear—no one knows what these regulations will contain. Nevertheless, it’s prudent to proceed as if these regulations will see the light of day next month.

DOL fills in details about the end of the COVID emergencies

04/03/2023
Once the two pandemic-related emergencies—the national emergency and the public health emergency—end May 11, group health plans can quit providing some benefits free of charge. On July 10, the statutory deadlines for electing health benefits snap back to their pre-pandemic normal. But there’s more to it, and the Department of Labor has issued FAQs clarifying just what’s going to happen on May 11 and July 10.

How does your company compare on total rewards?

03/23/2023
Total rewards are about much more than compensation. According to the WorldatWork association’s 2022 In Review: Total Rewards Inventory of Programs & Practices report, total rewards encompass best HR practices around work flexibility, performance management and employee benefits in addition to pay.

4 keys to care for employees’ mental health and wellness

03/23/2023
According to the nonprofit American Institute of Stress, work-related stress and associated absenteeism, diminished productivity and turnover cost employers at least $187 billion per year. To relieve employees’ stress and improve their mental health, try these tactics.

Is it time to force employees to use PTO?

03/23/2023
Now is the time to tell employees to submit their requests for time they want to take off for summer vacation. But what if workers are slow to schedule vacation time or insist on taking just a day or two off around the 4th of July instead of taking a full week off? That’s far more disruptive for supervisors.

Are your employees happy?

03/02/2023
Tomorrow is Employee Appreciation Day! So it’s a good time to assess whether employees are happy. Not skipping down a rainbow happy, but happy at work and with their work. Maybe happy-ish would be a better description. If you want to know whether employees are happy, ask them.

CHIPS, employer-provided dependent care benefits and employees’ 1040s

03/01/2023
The Commerce Department will be doling out $50 billion to construction and chip manufacturers. Catch: Applicants requesting more than $150 million in direct funding must provide their employees with access to affordable, accessible, reliable and high-quality child care.