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Compensation & Benefits

Stimulus law adds COBRA subsidy, tax changes

02/19/2009

The $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) signed on Feb. 17 by President Obama includes a handful of key HR-related provisions, including: COBRA subsidies, a Making Work Pay Credit and unemployment compensation.

Keep solid time records to prove whether employee is eligible for FMLA leave

02/19/2009

One criterion for employees to be eligible for FMLA leave is that they must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months preceding the FMLA leave. That’s why it’s important to track employees’ hours, even hours worked by exempt employees, too.

Must you offer FMLA for ‘possibility’ of serious illness?

02/19/2009

Don’t be so quick to pull out the “request denied” stamp when employees want to use FMLA leave to determine whether they have a qualifying “serious condition.” As a new court ruling shows, if an employee simply thinks she has a serious condition, she may take FMLA leave to have it checked out.

It’s time for a pay discrimination self-audit

02/19/2009

Is your company vulnerable to employees’ claims that they weren’t paid the right amount due to company policy or discrimination? Now’s a dangerous time to answer “yes” or “I don’t know.” Reason: A perfect storm of trends is prompting more U.S. workers to pursue their pay-related claims in court.

FMLA: ‘Serious Health Condition’ Defined

02/18/2009

HR Law 101: The FMLA defines a “serious health condition” as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves one of the following: hospital care, absence plus treatment, pregnancy, chronic conditions requiring treatments, permanent/long-term conditions requiring supervision, or multiple treatments (non-chronic conditions).

Stop ex-workers from ‘stealing’ vacation leave

02/17/2009

Employers are free to set the terms by which employees earn vacation leave. But what happens to that leave when employees resign or are fired? Here’s how to make sure you don’t leave that answer open to interpretation—by your employees or a court.

2 Ohio companies make Fortune ‘best’ list

02/12/2009

Two Ohio companies have made the 2009 Fortune magazine “100 Best Companies to Work For” list: Southern Ohio Medical Center, headquartered in Portsmouth, and OhioHealth, based in Columbus.

Florida companies make Fortune ‘best to work for’ list

02/12/2009

Three companies headquartered in Florida have made the 2009 Fortune magazine “100 Best Companies to Work For” list: Publix Super Markets, headquartered in Lakeland; Baptist Health South, of Coral Gables; and JM Family Enterprises, based in Deerfield Beach.

General Mills, Mayo Clinic on Fortune ‘best companies’ list

02/12/2009

Two companies headquartered in Minnesota have made the 2009 Fortune magazine “100 Best Companies to Work For” list: General Mills of Minneapolis and the Mayo Clinic of Rochester.

Extended benefits to help 3,000 jobless Minnesotans

02/12/2009

One of the first laws passed this year by the Minnesota Legislature will help about 3,000 Minnesotans who were about to exhaust their unemployment benefits …