Tag: Employee Benefits

Company Cabins Provide Opportunities For Affordable Family Getaways

For many employees, there’s nothing like a week in the mountains to spend time with their family and recharge—especially when the vacation is on the company’s tab. For nearly half a century, Freese and Nichols, Inc., (www.freese.com) has owned a cabin in Red River, New Mexico, and made it available to employees to use for […]

Make Your Benefits Package Goal-Oriented, Responsive to Individual Employee Needs

Turbulence in the economy means that many companies are looking toward their benefits package as a way to save money. But the employee benefits package is a critical tool to attract and keep top-quality employees. It should be designed with those employees firmly in mind, appealing to what is important to them and giving you […]

Don’t Be Afraid of Social Media: Smart and Simple Ways To Use These Tools for Benefits Communication

by Jennifer Benz Social media is the buzz at every corporate communications or HR conference, and the tools are growing more quickly than anything else online. Yet few companies are effectively integrating these tools into their benefits or strategic HR communications. Many companies are paralyzed because they don’t understand the tools, or they assume social […]

Exit Interviews: An Underused Tool for Protecting Your Company

HR professionals are frequently asked to do more with less. Moreover, these are challenging times, with companies facing increased employment litigation but having fewer resources for programs to strengthen the quality and longevity of the workforce. Exit interviews represent an effective and inexpensive, albeit little-used, tool for spotting and fixing problems before they turn into […]

Delaware Becomes Seventh State to Approve Same-Sex Civil Unions

by Lauren A. Moak and Adria B. Martinelli Beginning January 1, 2012, Delaware will allow same-sex civil unions and also will recognize similar unions performed in other states. Yesterday, the Delaware House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 30, a bill that establishes and recognizes same-sex civil unions while also requiring that the word “marriage” where […]

Health Care Reform Provisions Employers Need to Worry About

Have you been pulling your hair out for the past several months trying to determine what health care reform means for your organization? This article will provide you with a good starting point by outlining many of the major provisions of the health care reform package (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the […]

Trying to Go Paperless? Guidelines for Electronic Personnel Documents

by Joseph C. Pettygrove Employers are increasingly looking at the feasibility of scanning hard copies of various types of employment documents and retaining only the electronic copies in the routine course of business. Generally speaking, you are allowed to do that if you ensure that your electronic record maintenance systems are secure, accurate, reliable, and […]

Employers Facing Increased Scrutiny over Worker Classification

by Robert C. Nagle Employers can expect increased enforcement efforts from federal and state labor and tax authorities over what’s believed to be a rising tide of misclassification of employees as “independent contractors.” There can be significant payroll savings associated with classifying workers as contractors. For example, employers typically aren’t required to withhold or pay […]

Checklist for Drafting Executives’ Contracts

by Peter M. Panken Drafting executive employment contracts requires attention to myriad details. The higher up the executive, the more likely there will be detailed negotiation of the terms. And when negotiating with an incoming CEO, CIO, or CFO, an HR executive is faced with tough negotiations with a future boss. Keep up with the […]

Using Wellness Programs to Reduce Health Care Costs

by Susan Fahey Desmond In addressing the ever increasing costs of health care in the United States, Congress is looking at options that would theoretically make health insurance more affordable to Americans. The task of making health insurance more affordable to all is monumental. President Obama has said, “There’s no quick fix; there’s no silver […]