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Compensation & Benefits

Meat packer, staffing firm settle with Muslim workers

12/09/2008

St. Cloud-based Gold’n Plump has agreed to pay $215,000 to a group of Somali Muslim workers to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC. The company also granted the workers an extra paid break for prayer during the second half of each shift.

3 steps to jumpstart your company’s wellness program

12/09/2008

As health insurance costs skyrocket, even as benefits dwindle, so does the trend toward employers setting up wellness programs—71% of U.S. employers offered such programs in 2008. Here’s how to make the case for establishing a wellness program in your workplace, plus initial steps to put the plan in motion.

By The Numbers: Top executive pay down 4%

12/08/2008

A cynic might say a 4% average earnings decline isn’t enough, but at least the highest-paid executives in America’s publicly traded corporations are feeling some of the pain of the financial meltdown.

Worker denied unemployment can’t keep filing claims

12/08/2008

It may seem like common sense, but it took an Ohio Court of Appeals decision to settle the question: Employees can’t keep filing unemployment compensation claims for the same discharge after they lose the first round.

Obama health plan would raise coverage, some employer costs

12/08/2008

President-elect Barack Obama has said his plan for universal health coverage would reduce health care costs and save American businesses $140 billion a year. It would do so largely by requiring big businesses to provide health insurance for their workers or else pay into a federal fund that would provide coverage.

Encourage organ donations by offering extra days off

12/08/2008

Offering an extra three to 30 days of paid leave to employees who donate bone marrow or organs could improve your organization’s reputation as a company that cares about its community. Less than half of 1% of those who register as potential donors will ever be called to give, so the benefit will cost your organization very little.

Fitness classes cut employee use of prescription medicines

12/08/2008

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Rockville, Md., has figured out a way to reduce its employees’ reliance on medication: fitness classes.

California firm adds autism to health insurance coverage

12/08/2008

After data management company NetApp added coverage for autistic children to its health plan in 2006, 31 of the organization’s 5,000 employees used the benefit the first year. A total of 43 have tapped it so far …

When in doubt, add a stamp

12/08/2008

When Medical Mutual Insurance of Ohio learned that 11 computer disks mailed to state retirement groups in Columbus had not arrived, the insurer contacted the U.S. Postal Service. There was reason for concern: The disks contained personal information on 36,000 Ohio retirees …

Manage absences by asking employees why they’re out

12/08/2008

Employee absences are costing your business more than twice as much as health care, two recent surveys reveal. Cutting even a fraction of absences can have a potent impact on your organization’s bottom line—an attractive possibility in a tight economy when employers need workers to be as productive as possible.