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Compensation & Benefits

Expectant and new moms get help from co-worker ‘buddies’

03/09/2009

Pregnant employees of Southfield, Mich.-based accounting firm Plante & Moran count on support from co-workers who’ve been there. HR pairs expectant moms with those who’ve recently had babies so they can ask questions and get support. The buddies also help new moms make a successful transition back to work.

HR salaries weaken, but comp & benefits pay grows

03/09/2009

Base compensation and incentives for HR professionals took a hit last year, according to a new SHRM report, and they aren’t likely to recover anytime soon. The one bright spot, ironically, is pay for compensation and benefits specialists.

Stimulus law shakes up COBRA, other HR programs

03/09/2009

Amid the billions of dollars for roads and industry bailouts, the $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed on Feb. 17 by President Obama includes a handful of important HR-related provisions. Comp and benefits pros must act immediately to comply with some of these provisions.

Free health perks help wellness, recruiting

03/09/2009

Full-time employees of Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health Network don’t pay for health insurance. Plus, the organization hands them a fistful of “wellness dollars”—$700 to be exact—to spend on anything from gym memberships to massage therapy. Not only does the program help current employees, but also it has improved recruiting.

Employees with special-needs kids get improved medical coverage

03/09/2009

Parents of disabled kids who work for data management firm NetApp have access to enhanced health benefits to cover speech, occupational and physical therapy. Any child up to 12 years old who is diagnosed with a developmental delay or disorder is covered.

Take it seriously when doctor limits employee’s duties

03/09/2009

Employers ask for trouble when they ask workers to violate doctor’s orders. Train supervisors to honor medical restrictions. It will help the company in workers’ comp cases as well as ADA and FMLA situations. The following case illustrates the perils of playing fast and loose with physician certifications recommending light duty.

What do the workers’ comp rules say about employee’s flexibility to choose a psychiatrist?

03/09/2009

Q. An injured employee has requested a change of psychiatrist under Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Act. He never visited the originally assigned treating psychiatrist. Must we give the employee a choice of three other psychiatrists?

Can employee on workers’ comp who has already changed doctors now pick out a specialist?

03/09/2009

Q. One of our employees who is receiving workers’ compensation benefits and receiving treatment for a work-related accident already changed his primary care doctor once. He now wants to change to an orthopedic physician. Is he entitled to another physician in a different medical specialty?

PTO, leave sharing give employees flexibility

03/09/2009

Time off is precious to employees, but during tough economic times, some say they’d rather have the money. At MITRE, for example, a third of its 6,000 employees took advantage of an option to cash out up to two weeks of their paid leave last year.

You can rely on ‘negative’ FMLA certification

03/09/2009

Sometimes, employees think they’re sick enough to qualify for FMLA leave, but their doctors don’t. Other times, medical staff filling out the medical forms makes mistakes. Either way, if you get a certification or doctor’s note explaining that the employee can work, you are under no obligation to get more information. Instead, you can rely on that “negative” FMLA certification and deny leave.