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Compensation & Benefits

‘Disabled’ person recover? Demand proof he can’t work

11/19/2010
Some health conditions become less disabling because of better medicines or other factors. That means that an employee collecting disability payments under a company disability plan may in fact recover enough to warrant cutting off benefits.

Ban all supervisor comments about workers’ ages

11/19/2010

Here’s something to include in your regular supervisory training sessions: Remind everyone that they should banish from their vocabularies any slang or colorful terminology that hints at age discrimination. “Ageisms” can make legitimate business decisions like altered compensation plans, new job duties and other necessary changes look like pretexts for getting rid of older workers.

Youthful workforce gets focused benefits

11/19/2010
Teachers at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School call working from home a “primo perk.” A high percentage of the school’s 600 employees are young, so the organization focuses its benefits on the needs of the twenty- and thirtysomethings who work there.

5 mistakes to avoid when recognizing employees

11/18/2010
If a star employee has ever surprised you during an exit interview by saying she had been dissatisfied with her job for a long time, you’re not alone. It’s common to find a vast divergence between employee satisfaction and management’s take on the situation. Managers frequently make five big mistakes that can send your valued employees packing. Luckily, they’re easy to fix.

Deploy me to my happy place: U.S. military beats top firms

11/17/2010
Members of the U.S. armed forces are happier with their work than employees of top companies such as Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, Microsoft and Disney. So says a new survey by online career-guidance web site CareerBliss.com.

What hours can young teenagers work?

11/15/2010
Q. We have several employees who are 14 and 15 years old. Could you provide the specifics of the new regulations the U.S. Department of Labor recently issued relating to the work hours for these employees?

11 steps help make flexible work a success

11/15/2010
The DOL’s Women’s Bureau has started what it calls “a national dialogue on workplace flexibility,” and the agency is pushing employers to focus more on the work/life benefits of flex. Here are 11 steps you can take to make flex programs more successful—making work/life balance easier for your employees and improving your overall business operations:

Drivers get personal thank-yous from CEO

11/12/2010

Drivers who work for Fort Smith, Ark.-based ABF got personal thank-you notes from the CEO during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week in September. “Each of ABF’s employees contributes to the success of our company by working together as a team, and it doesn’t go unnoticed,” says CEO Wes Kemp.

Make choice up front: Employee or contractor?

11/11/2010

Adding staff? Decide up front if you want an employee or an independent contractor. Under the FLSA and state law, you must pay overtime to nonexempt employees. Not so for independent contractors. Make the employee-or-contractor call well before you bring someone on board. Don’t assume you can make the designation later. That usually won’t work.

Checking e-mail after hours: Should we pay?

11/11/2010
Q. Several nonexempt employees have smartphones. Do we have to pay them for the time they check work e-mail at home?