One of the most popular fringe benefits for employees at many organizations is not an insurance plan or a health club membership; it is shiny chrome and steel — a vehicle. Providing a car, van, or truck that an employee can use for both work...
There are many ways for employers to conduct annual performance reviews. So many, in fact, that owners of small to midsize businesses may find the prospect of implementing a state-of-the-art review process overwhelming. The simple truth is that smaller companies may not need to exert a...
When 401(k) plan participants are called to active duty, they often request to suspend their 401(k) plan loan repayments during their military leaves. Many employers may wonder whether the rules for suspending loan repayments during a military leave differ from those applicable to a regular...
Job applicants are not always honest on their resumes. And if you do not investigate suspicious claims, you might end up hiring an unqualified and unethical employee, which could lead to financial, productivity, and legal liability issues. The resume fibber also might be more likely...
Many employers believe they have taken adequate steps to prevent employment discrimination. And yet, it happens. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 76,418 charges of workplace discrimination in fiscal year 2018 and, as a result, obtained $505 million for victims employed in the private...
Employers with 20 or more employees are generally required to offer continuing health care coverage to departing staff members. This is commonly referred to as ‘COBRA’ after the legislation that made it law: the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. Like any type of health...
In good times, organizations often need to change to seize opportunities and keep up with demand. In bad times, they must change because, well, something has clearly gone awry. Whatever its cause may be, change can put great strain on an employer’s ability to accomplish...
Many organizations are adopting qualified transportation plans. Under these arrangements, employers contribute dollars toward mass transit expenses and allow employees to use pretax compensation reductions to pay for any additional qualified transportation expenses. A common conundrum of offering such a plan, however, is how to handle...
It is no surprise that 360-degree performance evaluations have grown in popularity. We live and work in an age of data — the more, the better, to avoid inaccurate assessments based on biases or small sample sizes. Under the 360-degree model, an employee is evaluated by...
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) covers both defined-benefit and defined-contribution retirement plans. If your organization offers its employees either, you may feel like you are constantly walking on eggshells trying to oversee all the regulatory details involved. One critical way to...