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Compensation & Benefits

Opted out of workers’ comp system? Be careful of verbal authorizations

04/01/2007

If your organization has opted not to participate in the Texas workers’ compensation system, but you still authorize treatment for work-related injuries, make sure you track how and when you give employees permission to seek treatment …

Unemployment Taxes: Don’t Try This Illegal Texas Two-Step

04/01/2007

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) recently announced that the agency has recovered nearly $1.8 million in unpaid unemployment insurance taxes from employers …

Benchmark organization’s health benefits using new online database

04/01/2007

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, has introduced a database of average annual health care costs for workers and employers in major U.S. cities …

It’s up to the injured employee to show that she’s totally disabled due to job injury

04/01/2007

Sometimes, what seems like a minor injury is exaggerated by employees who want to collect permanent workers’ compensation benefits. But there’s good news for employers. The Georgia Court of Appeals has clarified whose job it is to prove that disability …

You can ban employee smoking, but can you ban smokers?

04/01/2007

Employers are always looking for ways to cut health care costs … and smoking and overweight employees may seem like ripe targets for change …

Solidify an independent contractor’s status by proving he turned down employee job offer

04/01/2007

Florida employers don’t have to pay workers’ compensation benefits for their independent contractors. Plus, they aren’t responsible for the on-the-job injuries of such workers. But make sure you keep enough “distance” from those workers so they’ll keep their independent-contractor status …

Firing after FMLA: Potentially legal but usually unwise

04/01/2007

The FMLA doesn’t forbid you to fire employees after they return from FMLA leave, or even while they’re on it. You’re simply prohibited from firing them because they took FMLA leave …

Paid-Volunteer program unearths passions in employees

04/01/2007

The community relations department at Texas-based National Instruments organizes volunteer opportunities for the company’s 2,200 U.S. employees and has 40 staffers engaging workers in volunteer efforts. But that’s just the beginning. …

Volunteer opportunities help create worker balance

04/01/2007

Wealth management company Baird, based in Milwaukee, has designed programs to nurture its employees’ generous urges. The three-year-old Baird Cares initiative allows employees an extra paid day off each year to volunteer …

Termination for excessive absenteeism

04/01/2007

Q. Our handbook states that employees will be terminated if they are absent more than 10 days in 12 consecutive months. An employee has been absent for seven days so far this year, three of which were due to the flu. He called out sick four days ago. When he returns, he will have exceeded the 10-day limit. Can we terminate him?