07/29/2010
While making the right benefits choices and completing the necessary paperwork is ultimately the employee’s responsibility, HR can give a kick in the pants by providing a checklist like this one.
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07/29/2010
Quest Diagnostics is helping its workforce stay healthy by offering free health risk assessments and then following up with wellness programs that help employees address potential problems. Last year, 36,000 employees took part after Quest reduced the cost of biweekly medical plan contributions as an incentive.
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07/27/2010
Approximately 70% of employers sponsor wellness programs designed to drive down health care costs, reduce absenteeism and promote better employee health. Wellness programs that offer premium discounts have long been required to comply with HIPAA. More recently, two other laws muddied the wellness waters: the new health care reform law and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
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07/27/2010
Employers are warming up to wellness programs to help reduce health care costs. And it works! But choosing the wrong pieces of the wellness puzzle can lower your ROI dramatically. For the most bang for your wellness buck, focus on these five efforts that drive the greatest cost savings.
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07/23/2010
Hidden deep within the recently enacted health care reform legislation is a provision that garnered neither debate nor controversy in the media or the halls of Congress. The law amends the FLSA to require large employers to provide lactation breaks and facilities for employees who are breastfeeding.
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07/12/2010
Want your employees to take more responsibility for improving and protecting their health? Examine how you communicate with them about their benefits, says a new report from the Midwest Business Group on Health. Here are seven major findings from its new research, along with tips on using the information to trigger employee participation in wellness programs:
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06/30/2010
With 1,500 employees at its Chicago headquarters, advertising firm Leo Burnett isn’t quite large enough for an on-site day care center for employees’ children, says HR Manager Meredith Reinker. So it signed up for an online service that matches parents with local nannies and baby sitters. Sittercity.com also lists elder caregivers, pet sitters, tutors and housekeepers.
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06/08/2010
The combination of work stress and economic pressures appears to be playing a role in the U.S. labor force’s weight gain. Overall, 44% of workers say they have gained weight in their current jobs, up slightly from 43% in 2009, according to a new survey.
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05/17/2010
Q. I know a number of states already have laws that require employers to provide unpaid breaks to nursing mothers to express breast milk. Are there any federal laws providing for similar requirements?
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05/13/2010
As you may have heard by now, the new health reform law includes a provision to protect nursing mothers who choose to pump breast milk at work. But it’s important to realize that 24 states still have their own laws on this topic. And you must follow whichever law—fed or state—gives the greatest protection to the employee.
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05/11/2010
Q. One of our employees just returned from maternity leave and is now requesting that we accommodate her need to pump breast milk during the workday. Do we have to make this accommodation?
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04/27/2010
Get ready to trade working lunches for walking lunches. On April 28, employees at thousands of companies will take part in "National Walk @ Lunch Day." It’s not too late to organize your own lunchtime trek—we've got links to the planning tools you need.
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04/09/2010
One side effect of the recession: Cash-strapped employees are eating more processed and fast foods and exercising less, studies show. All the more reason for employers to maintain or even expand funding for employee wellness programs. As your organization watches every dollar it spends on benefits, consider the latest research on what’s working when it comes to employer wellness programs.
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04/06/2010
Even as the economy forces some organizations to cut benefits, it’s prompting others to add one: allowing parents to bring their babies to work. In just two years, the number of organizations with a babies-at-work benefit has more than doubled. The key, experts say, is to set up formal policies to guide moms and managers alike. Here's how one company does it.
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03/11/2010
In recent years, employees have begun filing more and more “caregiver” or “family responsibility” discrimination lawsuits. No federal or Minnesota law specifically addresses discrimination against caregivers. However, treating employees with caregiving responsibilities differently than other employees may violate various employment laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADA, the FMLA and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
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