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Compensation & Benefits

Unions are revving up: Here’s how to keep them at bay

01/01/2006

Infighting among union groups has the labor movement cranking up its organizing efforts to prove a point. Many employers panic when they become union targets, tripping over costly labor relations rules. Follow these steps to avoid becoming a union target …

Are you wired for field HR or corporate HR?

01/01/2006

Field HR or corporate HR: Neither career path is necessarily better; each has its own challenges and rewards. But there are important differences between the two that influence your career direction. Knowing those distinctions is a key step in any HR job move …

Understand links between FMLA and workers’ comp

01/01/2006

Q. If an employee is out on workers’ comp due to a work-related injury that requires surgery, can we also force him to use FMLA days in conjunction with that workers’ comp leave? The workers’ comp carrier is paying the employee’s reduced wages. —B.F., Pennsylvania

Two doctor visits during incapacity period define a serious condition

01/01/2006

Don’t assume that an employee’s three-day absence and two doctor’s visits will automatically equal a "serious health condition" that qualifies the employee for FMLA leave. A new court ruling says it matters when those two doctor’s visits occur …

Should You Give FMLA Form to ‘Ineligible’ Employee?

01/01/2006

Q. An employee who’s been employed since May is out on workers’ comp and will be for a while. Do I send her FMLA paperwork even though she hasn’t met the criteria of being employed for at least a year? It’s my understanding that I should send it to everyone that requests leave, and only after they return the paperwork should I determine if the person is, in fact, eligible. —L.P., California

Decrease in Overtime Hours Not Necessarily an ‘Adverse Action’

01/01/2006

Employees need to prove they suffered some sort of "adverse job action" (firing, demotion, worse job conditions, etc.) to file a discrimination lawsuit. But variations in work schedules don’t necessarily amount to an adverse action. That’s true even if an employee’s altered schedule results in fewer overtime hours …

You need luck to uncover fraud, but a bit of skill helps, too

01/01/2006

While most workplace financial fraud is discovered by chance, it still pays to institute controls that can identify such scams. A new PricewaterhouseCoopers study of 3,600 employers found that 45 percent of respondents had detected incidents of fraud …

Don’t complicate the paycheck pickup process

01/01/2006

Q. Once a year, we have employees show a picture ID and provide a signature that allows them to authorize someone else to pick up their paycheck for them. If an employee doesn’t provide ID and a signature, we will mail the check or hold it until he or she personally picks it up. Is this legal? —J.I., Washington, D.C.

You may be liable for wage claims from contractor’s illegal workers

01/01/2006

You might think outsourcing jobs to an independent contractor saves money. But if you insist on exercising any significant control over how, when and where independent contractors do their job, you may end up paying dearly in the end if your organization is deemed the true employer …

Immigration Steps Up High-Profile Workplace Raids

01/01/2006

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is stepping up its efforts to discourage employers from hiring undocumented workers. ICE recently raided a million-square-foot Wal-Mart warehouse in Butler, Pa., netting 125 undocumented workers …