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HRM in the News is South-Western's service to provide summaries of the latest human resource management news stories. Review the brief summaries and, for stories of interest, select the full summary. |
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| Title | Brief Summary |
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Do employers have to pay employees for all training time? According to the Department of Labor, compensation depends in part on whether the training is mandatory or voluntary, and whether it targets certain duties required on the job. |
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Should salaries be kept confidential and secret? Should raises be negotiated and granted arbitrarily? Do employees understand the sometimes complex calculations or confusing structures that determine their pay? This article describes a fresh approach—creating a few simple job levels, paying one salary for each level, and telling employees like it is. |
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Masayoshi Kaji, the owner of an LA sushi restaurant, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the California labor commissioner after he was fined more than $35,000 in back wages and penalties for not properly paying 2 employees for overtime, breaks, and meal times. Kaji claims that because the employees were illegal immigrants, no wages can be legally demanded of him at all. (Updated August 2008) |
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FedEx Ground has been fined for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, and may owe the IRS as much as $319 million if their drivers all need to be reclassified. The company stands by its business model, however, which uses nearly 15,000 owner-operators to work routes as independents. (Updated August 2008) |
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A significant number of large, publicly-traded U.S. companies do not intend to disclose performance goals used in their executive compensation plans for the 2007 year, despite new SEC rules which request more transparency in executive pay strategies. (Updated May 2008) |
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Auto mechanics that use a compensation system common in the industry are not entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA, according to a ruling from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. (Updated January 2008) |
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Two employees of a direct-mail coupon package company sued recently, claiming that their employer incorrectly classified them as exempt from overtime pay and made improper deductions from their paychecks for disability claims. The court ruled in favor of the company in this case. (Updated January 2008) |
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Circuit City laid off 3,400 employees last week that they felt were overpaid. The company’s cost-cutting measures will create short-term difficulties as they prepare for the busy Christmas selling season and potential long-term difficulties as the company faces the repercussions of disgruntled employees. (Updated June 2007) |
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When Robert Nardelli resigned on January 3rd from the top leadership spot at Home Depot, he left behind angry shareholders and employees. Most of the anger was directed at Nardelli’s extravagant compensation, which was designed with to have no connection to real performance. New CEO Frank Blake is getting a very different package, tied directly to performance. Will it be enough to bring about a change for the better? (Updated June 2007) |
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Workers at 3M are facing a complete overhaul in the company’s compensation system. Some employees are frustrated by the change, and see it as a negative change in the company’s culture. (Updated April 2007) |
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The new Democratic Congress is getting ready to make the minimum wage increase one of its first legislative actions. Meanwhile, business owners argue over what the impact of the increased wage schedule will be. (Updated March 2007) |
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The debate over executive compensation and corporate governance continues to be a controversial topic. While the average worker gets a pay increase that barely covers the cost-of-living increase for the year, executive compensation, even for executives who fail, continues to skyrocket out of control. (Updated March 2007) |
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Wal-Mart unveiled new policies this week in an effort to improve employee morale at its stores. However, an extra 10% discount at Christmas time on one item, and a free shirt after 20 years of service probably are not going to do much to improve the bad feelings brought about by court cases, wage caps, and strict attendance policies at stores. (Updated February 2007) |
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In a recent decision, The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an employer may reduce an employee’s bonus because of absence while the employee is on Family Medical Leave. The Court went on to differentiate between production and occurrence bonuses, specifying that only production bonuses could be fairly prorated. (Updated December 2006) |
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Chicago recently passed a “big box” ordinance that sets minimum wage and benefit spending requirements for the city’s largest retailers. The ordinance is just one of hundreds of state and local laws of minimum wage regulations across the country. (Updated November 2006) |
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The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has become a prime target for lawsuits. Employers need to be sure that they are familiar with the provisions of the Act and that they comply with the regulations when it comes to overtime pay for employees. This article explains five mistakes that employers should avoid to keep their workplace in compliance. (Updated November 2006) |
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Employers are cautioned that taking deductions from salaries of exempt employees for lost or damaged work tools can incur the risk of loss of the employee’s exempt status. (Updated September 2006) |
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Recent college graduates are still most interested in starting salary, but are giving increasing importance to the total pay package offered by companies. They are increasingly looking to employers for stability and security, and savvy recruiters and employers will need to be prepared. (Updated September 2006) |
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A nonprofit HMO in California has implemented a pay-for-performance program for its practitioners, which rewards doctors for providing and reporting on timely preventative care. The chief medical officer of the HMO credits the compensation program for its high rate of preventative care. (Updated August 2006) |
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Collective actions filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act are the most frequent suits brought against companies today. Realizing that there are very few exceptions to the FLSA overtime rules and putting policies regarding overtime in place can help an employer to avoid becoming a defendant in one of these lawsuits. (Updated August 2006) |
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Companies that traditionally gave raises and bonuses across the board to employees are making the switch to pay-for-performance programs that reward outstanding contributions with higher pay and bonuses. Companies are using these programs to help them to identify, attract, and retain top-performers as well as to drive better results at their firms. (Updated July 2006) |
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As part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan, United Airlines has announced it will reduce stock payments to company executives and management from a proposed 15% down to 8%. The plan is still met with criticism by union representatives who feel it is exorbitant and not mindful of the pilots and flight attendants who have suffered for the success of the company. (Updated February 2006) |
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Pay compression occurs when less experienced people earn as much or more than more experienced people due to rising starting salaries. As the economy recovers, pay compression will become more of an issue that needs to be addressed proactively before it becomes a morale and retention problem. (Updated January 2006) |
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Soft labor markets and increased profit expectations have caused companies to reconsider their approach to compensation. Two companies, Cisco and Aflac are profiled in this article. They each take a different approach to keeping good employees motivated and rewarded while keeping overall labor costs down. Cisco has reduced incentives to fund base pay increases and Aflac has suppressed fixed-costs and put most of their dollars behind incentives and lush benefits. (Updated December 2005) |
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FirstMerit Bank, a 3,400 employee corporation in Akron, Ohio used to have a big problem with turnover of its operators in the check proofing department. A pay-for-performance plan that evaluates employees on their speed and accuracy and rewards them for good work has boosted morale and dramatically lowered turnover. (Updated June 2005) |
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Wal Mart claims that its low prices help poor Americans to live better quality lives and that it treats its employees better than many retailers. Critics claim that Wal Mart's low wages perpetuate the poverty problem and that the profitable company could do a better job of taking care of its employees by increasing pay rates and putting more money toward benefits. (Updated June 2005) |
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Bonuses for CEOs rose dramatically last year, sparking criticism of the seemingly excessive levels of compensation for company leaders, especially when company performance does not increase at the same level. (Updated April 2005) |
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When companies fall onto hard times they start to look for ways to save money and cut costs to stay competitive. Salary reductions and pay freezes of front-line employees has been an easy first answer. However, cutting labor costs may not provide a ready answer to lowering costs. (Updated September 2004) |
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Companies need to be especially careful when recruiting for jobs in Iraq. Working in a danger zone calls for a specific type of individual who is a high risk taker. Protecting these employees also calls for unusual safety and security requirements. But, the compensation makes up for a lot of hardships. (Updated 07/01/04) |
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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 changed the manner in which companies disclosed financial accounting practices. It also changed how executive compensation is awarded to its chief officers. As a result of this act senior Human Resource executives are finding themselves in the boardroom and giving advice to their executive compensation committee. (Updated July 2004) |
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This article discusses on-the-spot incentives. It's a way to recognize an employee immediately for exceptional service or performance. This tool is becoming increasingly important as a retention tool. The positive impact on employees far outweighs the cost of the incentive. (Updated 06/08/04) |
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This article discusses the consequences on customer loyalty when salespeople pay more attention to their sales incentives than to good service. (Updated June 2004) |
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The Department of Labor is scheduled to release changes to the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in March of 2004. These much-awaited changes will directly affect employees and employers and is expected to add $890 million in overtime. (Updated May 2004) |
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The result of the Institute of Management & Administration, Inc.'s 2004 compensation survey has been completed. The survey was conducted on 500 companies in different industries and asked them for their best cost-control methods when containing pay increases. (Updated May 2004) |
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The laws regarding pay for employees are clearly spelled out by the government. It can be an expensive proposition to ignore them. Einstein Brothers Bagels paid a hefty $495,930 to 424 assistant managers in 27 states because of their failure to properly classify the management positions. (Updated 02/01/04) |
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In spite of optimism about the economy, employers remain cautious and very conservative when it comes to raising salaries and adding staff. (Updated 11/01/03) |
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The premise of this article is that men compete differently than women; therefore, they do better at work and get paid more. (Updated 9/02/03) |
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High home prices may force employers to offer better wages. (Updated 9/02/03) |
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The state of Illinois' plan to raise the minimum wage is meeting resistance from small business owners. (Updated 9/02/03) |
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There's a revolution in compensation led by companies like Marriott and Dow. They establish market prices for pay, and let line managers make the salary calls. The results are impressive. (Updated 7/31/03) |
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