Work Life Issues

Access to Early Retirement and Mortality
Excerpt:"We do not find any adverse effect of early retirement on mortality for females. Death causes indicate a significantly higher incidence of cardiovascular disorders among eligible workers, suggesting that changes in health-related behavior explain increased mortality among male early retirees."(Social Science Research Network)

Can an Employee Exposed to Pandemic Flu Take FMLA Leave?
Excerpt:"Not necessarily. FMLA protection requires that the employee experience a serious health condition -- compliance with the employer's swine flu policy is not enough."(Wolters Kluwer)

Vegging Out at Work in Company Gardens
Excerpt:"More companies are ripping out manicured lawns to create on-site vegetable gardens as healthy perks or volunteer opportunities for employees."(Star Tribune)

Many See Grim Future, No Retirement, As They're Forced to Tap Into Savings
Excerpt:"This Labor Day, [there is a] growing number of Americans who've slashed their retirement savings and who worry more about their future retirement security, another unwelcome byproduct of the recession."(Chicago Sun-Times)

New York Employers Must Provide Funeral and Bereavement Leave to Employees in Same-Sex Relationships (PDF)
1 page. The law is slated to become effective October 30, 2010. (Nixon Peabody LLP)

Paid Time Off for Volunteering
Excerpt:"Corporations that provide employees paid time off to volunteer typically pursue one of two routes: setting a designated volunteer day or providing a block of paid hours annually. Which approach works best depends upon the employees involved, as well as what company officials want to achieve through the volunteer initiative, experts say."(Workforce Management; free registration required)

2010 New York State Legislative Update Relevant to New York Employers
The New York State Legislature enacted and the Governor signed a number of laws: the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, Funeral Leave Benefits for Same-Sex Couples, and Health Benefits for Volunteer Firefighters and Ambulance Workers. (Jackson Lewis LLP)

Book Review: How Companies Can Turn an Ageing Workforce to Their Advantage
Excerpt:"By carefully examining statistical evidence, the authors conclude that'on virtually every dimension that is relevant to employers, older workers come out ahead of their younger colleagues'. These include in areas such as knowledge, skills, abilities, problem-solving and adaptability."(Sinagapore Management University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)

New York Enacts Bill of Rights for Domestic Workers
Excerpt:"[The new law] amends New York Labor Law to entitle domestic workers to receive overtime pay, one day of rest per week or overtime pay when they work on their day of rest, and three days of paid time off after one year of employment."(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

Perks/Alternative'Rewards'Substitute for Fatter Paychecks
Excerpt:"Flextime -- allowing individuals to alter their working hours -- can be an attractive reward for hard-working employees. . . . Another option is getting employers to pay for courses, seminars and conferences, or membership to professional groups . . . ."(Columbia Daily Tribune)

'When I'm 64'-- How Aging U.S. Baby Boomers Have Begun to Carry That Weight
Excerpt:"The trend toward delayed retirement could also be good news for the cognitive capacities of aging baby boomers. Cross-national data from 13 developed countries have shown a correlation between delayed retirement and the delayed onset of cognitive declines, with both delays being more characteristic of older Americans than of older Europeans."(RAND)

Broke Miami, Florida, Breaking Employee Contracts
Excerpt:"The city is operating under a state of'fiscal urgency,'declared earlier this summer. The budget deficit for next fiscal year is about $110 million. The proposed cuts in salary, pension contributions and health insurance costs amounts to about $86 million in savings for the city."(NBC Universal, Inc.)

Survey Finds Fewer Companies Continuing Benefits during Unpaid Non-FMLA Leaves
Excerpt:"According to the survey of Family Leave practices by BLR, 58% of responding companies allow benefits to continue, a significant decrease from the 73% of respondents who had such a policy in late 2007."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] The Ohio Military Family Leave Act Is in Effect as of July 2, 2010
Excerpt:"This Act applies to both public and private employers with 50 or more employees and allows eligible employees to take up to 10 days or 80 hours, whichever is less, of unpaid leave when a family member who is a member of the uniformed services is called to active duty or is injured, wounded or hospitalized while serving on active duty."(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

Principal 10 Best Stand Firm on Employee Benefit Commitment
Excerpt:"This is the ninth consecutive year the Principal has sponsored the program that honors growing companies (five ? 1,000 employees) for their commitment to employees'financial security through outstanding employee benefit offerings."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

California Proposition 8 Barring Same-Sex Marriage Ruled Unconstitutional: What the Ruling Means for Employers
Excerpt:"The court's ruling is likely to have limited effect on employers so long as federal law does not recognize same-sex marriage. California law already extends the same rights and obligations to registered domestic partners as to spouses, including, for example, the right to take family leave due to the serious illness of a domestic partner."(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

Plan to Cut Vacation Time for Shelby County, Tennessee, Employees
Excerpt:"While the measure would save the county thousands of dollars, it would also lump workers'vacation, sick, bonus and bereavement time into one category; reducing the total time off in some cases from 61 days to 35."(Newport Television LLC)

Employee Benefits Update, August 2010 (PDF)
The eight-page newsletter presents select compliance deadlines and reminders; retirement plan developments; health and welfare plan developments, and, general developments. (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.)

Benefit Claims Jump Following Workforce Reductions
Excerpt:"The economic recession has led many employers to trim payroll in an effort to stay afloat. However, layoffs can have negative consequences for a company's healthcare and workers'compensation costs."(Human Resource Executive Online)

Vision Benefit Plan Design a Powerful Tool in Employee Health Promotion
Excerpt:"Because optometrists can (and do) look at blood vessels during an eye exam, they can help identify symptoms of ? and manage ? a variety of conditions that might not otherwise be detected at a pre-symptomatic stage."(Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Pennsylvania Bill Would Mandate Workplace Sick Leave
Excerpt:"An Allegheny County state legislator wants all full-time workers in Pennsylvania to get 6 1/2 days of paid sick time per year, an idea that is going over well with labor unions and women's groups but not so well with some business owners."(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

[Guidance Overview] Employer-Sponsored Leave-Based Donation Programs Not Available for Haiti Earthquake Victims
Excerpt:"EBIA Comment: Employer-sponsored leave-based donation programs should not be confused with leave-sharing programs under which employees may donate unused leave to their co-workers."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

FAA May Ease Stance on Reimbursements for Personal Use of Company Jet
Excerpt:"The FAA announced on July 8 it is revisiting a longstanding interpretation that effectively blocks flight operators -- employers, as the case may be -- from accepting reimbursement for the cost of personal, non-business flights operated under the non-commercial rules of Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). The FAA is digesting public comments on the re-interpretation before making the revision final."(Thompson Publishing Group Inc.)

Audio and Text: Unlimited Vacation Time Not a Dream for Some
Excerpt:"Why the uptick in unlimited paid leave now? Studies have long shown that -- believe it or not -- such flexibility actually makes workers more productive and engaged. But Lenny Sanicola, with the human resources group World at Work, which surveys company benefits, suspects something more. Sanicola notes that with all the perks being cut during the recession, vacation time has held its own."(National Public Radio)

Low-Cost, High-Impact Employee Benefits
Excerpt:"No matter how loyal, hard-working, or committed your employees may be, it's hard for them not to feel discouraged or unappreciated when their paychecks shrink. But money isn't the only motivator. Consider creative ways to show appreciation and boost team morale without hurting the bottom line."(Morningstar)

Employee Benefits in a Multigenerational Workplace
Excerpt:"Whether your technology company employs members spanning four generations, or even just two generations, this article suggests employee benefits that should be considered to best align your company's productivity goals with the needs and attitudes of its multigenerational workers."(Epstein Becker&Green, P.C.)

21 Business Group Members Recognized by Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption for'The Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces in America'
Excerpt:"The list [names] the top 100 organizations that provide exceptional support to employees who adopt."(National Business Group on Health)

Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2009: Tables Organized by Ownership
Types of Ownership: Civilian (includes private industry and State and local government establishments); Private industry (excludes agricultural establishments, private households, and the self-employed); and, State and local government (excludes federal employees). (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2009: Tables Organized by Benefit
Types of Benefits: Retirement Benefits; Health Care Benefits; Life, Short-term Disability, and Long-term Disability Insurance Benefits; Holiday, Vacation, Sick, and Other Leave Benefits; Other Benefits; and, Establishment Data. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Companies Help Employees Provide End-of-Life Care
Excerpt:"Pitney Bowes is among several companies now reaching out to employees who are caring for a loved one with a terminal illness. It's offering employee support -- like financial and legal resources, counseling on hospice and palliative care, and flexible working arrangements."(Morning Edition via National Public Radio)

DOL Explains Nursing-Mother Work Break Requirements
Excerpt:"The DOL guidance sheds light on several issues, such as the duration and frequency of nursing breaks, the type of space required, and the conditions that might entitle women to pay during these breaks."(Mercer LLC)

Employee Benefits Developments, July 2010
A brief look at developments in Employee Benefits law from June and July 2010, including cases, rulings, and opinions. (Hodgson Russ LLP)

Economic Downturn Influencing Rewards Strategy (PDF)
Excerpt:"[This article] looks at Hay Group's Changing Face of Reward research and examines how the business drivers of rewards are changing due to the impact of the global downturn and other macroeconomic trends in the global economy."(Premium Incentive Products Magazine)

Bereavement Leave for the 21st Century
Excerpt:"[While working on a bereavement leave policy,] we settled for common sense and humanity. Here is what is in the works: The nonprofit'realizes that this list is illustrative, not exhaustive, and that there are many nontraditional relationships that can be no less important to our employees. If you believe that bereavement leave is appropriate in your circumstances, please let [designated person] know, and we will work with you.'"(Work Matters)

Work and Retirement Patterns for the G.I. Generation, Silent Generation, and Early Boomers
Excerpt:"This study comparing retirement patterns over the past 30 years finds that older adults are now working longer and taking more complex routes out of the labor force."(Urban Institute)

Benefits/Compensation Costs up Slightly in 2nd Quarter
Excerpt:"Wages and salaries (which make up about 70% of compensation costs) increased 0.4% while benefits (which make up the remaining 30% of compensation) increased 0.6%, according to a BLS news release."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Employers Get Creative with Incentives When Money Is Tight
Excerpt:"Employers are paying for business coaching and college tuition, training staff, subsidizing meals and extending family leave to ensure high productivity and strengthen themselves for post-recession expansion."(North Jersey Media Group)

Does Stock Market Performance Influence Retirement Expectations?
Excerpt:"While media reports predicted substantial changes in labor supply behavior due to the sharp decline in the value of the stock market in October 2008, empirical evidence on the relationship between equity markets and retirement is mixed."(National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

[Guidance Overview] Fact Sheet: Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt:"[W]here employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. In addition, the FLSA's general requirement that the employee must be completely relieved from duty or else the time must be compensated as work time applies."(U.S. Department of Labor)

[Guidance Overview] DOL's Guidance on FLSA Lactation-Break Requirement
Excerpt:"DOL has not specified any minimum number of, frequency of, or duration for these breaks. It says only that the amount of time must be'reasonable', and that the breaks must be permitted'as frequently as needed'by the employee."(Fisher&Phillips LLP)

Special Report on Employee Relocation
Excerpt:"The recession forced a drastic shift in relocation philosophies in the last two years, as companies struggled to find the right people for a position, move them where they're needed and keep them there in an economically feasible way."(Workforce Management; free registration required)

Supplemental Pay in the Healthcare Industry: Overtime Pay, Bonuses, and Shift Differentials
Excerpt:"The use of supplemental pay in the healthcare industry differs from other service-providing industries primarily in that shift differentials play a greater role, while bonuses appear to play a lesser role. The relative importance of shift differentials in the healthcare industry is probably related to the'round-the-clock'nature of healthcare services in general."(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Quantifying the Benefits Workshifting Has for Employers, Employees and the Community (PDF)
23 pages. Excerpt:"Workshifting, and in particular, home-based work, offers a relatively simple, high return-on-investment solution to some of the nation's most vexing problems . . . ."(Telework Research Network / Aerodite, Inc.)

Majority of Employers Offer Telecommuting, According to Survey
Excerpt:"Of those companies, two-thirds have offered telecommuting for three years or more."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Employers Say Health and Productivity Management Programs Work
Excerpt:"According to the analysis, six practices ? nurse case management, transitional return-to-work . . ., health risk coaching, onsite providers, participation incentives, and weight management ? have positive impacts on at least two important health and productivity outcomes and therefore should be considered an essential part of an effective and efficient HPM program, according to the press release."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

FAA Proposal May Affect Disclosure of Executives'Personal Use of Company Aircraft
Excerpt:"Executives likely to have personal travel disrupted by urgent business could use corporate aircraft for such trips and reimburse their companies for this expense, under a proposed Federal Aviation Administration legal interpretation."(Mercer LLC)

[Opinion] Response to Criticism of the Analysis Presented in the Report:'Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation Over 20 Years'
Excerpt:"Some have argued that because many public pension plans around the country are not fully funded, the entire cost of defined benefit (DB) pension benefits is not recognized in the data we used in our study, which comes from the National Compensation Survey . . . ."(National Institute on Retirement Security)

Retaliation for Internal Complaint Upheld in ERISA Sec. 510 Case
Excerpt:"The five appellate courts that have ruled on this issue have reached split decisions. The Fifth and Ninth Circuit courts have ruled that the employee is protected while the Second and Fourth Circuit courts now have been joined by the third circuit in ruling that Sec. 510 does not protect the employee from retaliation."(Wolters Kluwer)

[Opinion] Testimony:'Encouraging Work at Older Ages'before Senate Committee on Finance (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt:"The most important forces behind the historical turnaround in labor force participation were rising education levels and technological change leading to less physically demanding jobs. Work atolder ages is likely to continue rising in the future, but it will be propelled by different forces."(RAND)

Flexible Work Arrangements May Hinder the Climb Up the Corporate Ladder
Excerpt:"Corporate America has been marching toward nontraditional work arrangements for some time -- last year alone, 21% of companies introduced flextime. Improved (and cheaper) technology is one big driver, and the recession has proven to be another. Options such as remote work, part-time, and customized schedules are'a very inexpensive way to reward someone,'. . . ."(CFO.com)

Illness-Related Work Absences During Flu Season (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt:"The level of absence due to a worker's own illness, injury, or medical appointment was higher in the winter of 2007?08 than at any other period covered in this analysis, reaching a high of 3.3 million in February 2008."(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Senate Finance Committee to Hold Hearing July 15 on'Choosing to Work During Retirement and the Impact on Social Security'
Excerpt:"Scheduled to testify are: Stephen Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration; Marc Freedman, CEO and founder, Civic Ventures, San Francisco, California; Marcia Brown, CEO, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, Montana; Nicole Maestas, economist and group manager, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California; and Bonnie Shelor, senior vice president for human resources, Bon Secours Richmond Health Systems, Richmond, Virginia."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

IRS/Treasury Officials Provide Informal Views on Variety of Benefit Topics, Including Leave Sharing, HSAs, and 401(k) Plans
Excerpt:"While the answers in the report [on the views and remarks of the officials] do not necessarily represent IRS or Treasury policy, they provide helpful insight regarding the issues addressed."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

Hewitt Associates, Inc. to Merge with Aon Corporation
Excerpt:"This morning Aon Corporation and Hewitt Associates, Inc. announced that the boards of directors of both companies have approved a definitive agreement under which Hewitt will merge with a subsidiary of Aon."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Unscheduled Absence Costs Employers 8.7% of Payroll, According to Survey
Excerpt:"The total costs, direct and indirect, of all major absence categories average 35% of base payroll, ranging from 29% for exempt employees, 36% for nonexempt salaried, 39% for nonunion hourly workers and 38% for union hourly."(Wolters Kluwer)

Health Care Reform May Spur More Office Wellness Programs
Excerpt:"In the last few years, corporate wellness programs have been fueled by employers'desire to curb increases in health care costs, cut back on absenteeism and make employees more productive. . . . Now, with health care reform ready to kick in, more employers are poised to dangle financial incentives and use creative measures to get their workers healthier."(KansasCity.com)

Understanding of Work/Life Balance for Employees Is the Key to Equal Treatment of New Parents
Excerpt:"['The New Dad: Exploring Fatherhood within a Career Context'reports that] fathers in this study believe that the expectations and perceptions of them are different than the expectations and perceptions of their female counterparts."(Human Resource Executive Online)

[Guidance Overview] Ohio Supreme Court Rules Neutral Leave Policy Not Direct Evidence of Sex Discrimination
Excerpt:"The court's decision rejects the Ohio Civil Rights Commission's long-held position that Ohio's civil rights laws mandate employers provide maternity leave even where leave would not be available to employees who are not pregnant."(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

[Guidance Overview] Ohio Supreme Court Decision Allows Employers to Refuse Maternity Leave and Terminate Employees who Have Not Met Length of Service Requirements
Excerpt:"The Court held that pregnant employees must only be treated the same as all other employees under an employer???s leave policy and can be terminated while on a pregnancy-related leave pursuant to a neutral policy."(Porter Wright Morris&Arthur LLP)

Six Ways to Make the Most of Your Benefits Investment
Excerpt:"How do the leaders of the best workplaces do it? They focus on not just what benefits to offer, but also on how they are offered and connect with their employees. Here are six key lessons that bring this principle to life . . . ."(TheStreet.com, Inc.)