Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and must be restored to the same (or an equivalent) role upon their return to work. However, the FMLA also has a narrow exception that permits employers to deny reinstatement of key employees. Who Are Key Employees? The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) defines a key employee as a … [Read more...]

Most managers, if asked, would say they don't have a favorite employee, but is that true? Usually, a team leader can point to the most valuable employee on his or her team. A recent study asked managers to rate their employees' productivity on a scale of 1 to 10. The study found that the top-rated employees: Are three times as valuable to their employers as their co-workers. Produced 61% … [Read more...]

Human resources, employee benefits and payroll functions are separate yet intertwined, and checklists are essential to staying on top of your responsibilities for each one. Below are examples of what might be included in these checklists. Human resource management checklist HR department plan: Lays out the structure and operation of your human resources department. Recruiting and … [Read more...]

Approximately one-third of employees do not understand or know anything about their health coverage, according to a 2019 survey by Maestro Health. To help promote employee health care literacy, we’ve compiled a list of 10 questions that employees should ask their employers prior to choosing group health coverage. Employers can prepare a written Q&A for employees based on these questions. … [Read more...]

Research shows that competency-based hiring not only improves the quality of hires but also significantly increases retention levels and the hiring of diverse candidates. In one survey, an employer saw a 15%-20% decline in turnover after implementing competency-based hiring, which is achieved through competency-based interviewing. Competency-based interviewing: the basics Competency-based … [Read more...]

Today’s HR departments manage a suite of responsibilities that go beyond recruitment, compensation and benefits. For example, HR also handles workforce planning, diversity and inclusion, company culture, employee retention, workplace conflict, data privacy, and code of conduct. All of these HR activities and others can be linked to ethics in some way. What does ethics mean in business? To … [Read more...]

Traditionally, employees have to opt in to retirement plans and make their own decisions about contributions. But there's another possibility: automatic enrollment. If they choose to enroll their staff automatically, companies have three options: Basic automatic enrollment, also called an "Automatic Contribution Arrangement” (ACA) Employees are automatically enrolled in the 401(k) plan … [Read more...]

Once you have at least one person working for your business, you're an employer. Being an employer comes with a wide range of responsibilities, including withholding, depositing and paying employment taxes. How can you make sure you're fulfilling all your tax duties to avoid getting hit with fines and fees? First, make sure to mark your calendar with key dates. The IRS has an Employment Tax Due … [Read more...]

If your company is doing something wrong, the law says that your employees have the right to report it. The usual rules about corporate privacy don't apply when laws are being broken. Whistleblower protection laws contain provisions that make it illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee for exercising their rights under the law. Retaliation includes adverse employment actions, such … [Read more...]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 3% of full-time employees took time off work during a randomly selected week in 2020. However, the report does not identify nonattendances that are due to absenteeism — an employee's willful or habitual absence from work. As an employer, you expect absences. But excessive no-shows can wreak havoc on productivity and your profit margin. Often, … [Read more...]