Executive Summary: 2005 Survey of Exempt Compensation
June 30, 2005—According to BLR's
2005 Survey of Exempt Compensation, over 80% of all the exempt job titles
surveyed reported at least a marginal pay increase for 2005. Increases ranged
from .43% to an impressive 13.89%.
Executive Summary: 2005 Survey of Nonexempt Compensation
June 29, 2005—A slowdown in nonexempt wage growth in 2005 may be one of the first indicators that the national economy is not recovering as rapidly as expected. According to Business & Legal Reports' 2005 Survey of Nonexempt Compensation, 28 percent of the positions surveyed reported at least a marginal decrease
in hourly wages for 2005.
Employee Scholar Program Makes the Grade
June 27, 2005—Employees who earn college degrees through the Employee Scholar Program (ESP)
at United Technologies Corporation (UTC) are not required to continue working
for the company after graduation, but nearly all of them do, says Lee Dailey,
director of Education and Development for UTC. Nearly 16,500 employees have
earned degrees through the program since its inception 9 years ago.
Employers May Not Retaliate for Internal Whistleblowing
June 17, 2005—While it is clear that whistleblower provisions protect employees who
go outside the workplace and institute judicial proceedings or attempt to have
a regulatory agency institute proceedings against the employer,
do they also protect employees
who make informal complaints to supervisors within the workplace?
USERRA: Some of You Aren't in Compliance
May 25, 2005—BLR's recent survey on military leave policies, "USERRA: Are You in Compliance?", revealed that a number of respondents were in violation of two key elements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA): (1) the new notice requirement, and (2) the new rule that extends the period for continuation of healthcare benefits from 18 to 24 months. Read on to make sure that your company is not one of those missing the mark on compliance.
Become an Employer of Choice Through Work/Life Programs
May 24, 2005—With an improving economy comes more turnover and more trouble attracting the employees you need. To survive in this environment, says Celina Pagani-Tousignant, it is vital to become an "employer of choice" by offering workers innovative work/life programs.
Getting HR into the Pipeline to Top Management
May 24, 2005—While human resources professionals have not traditionally been a part of major corporations' top management teams, Ram Charan has a roadmap to how they might get there.
Company-Sponsored Fitness Programs Pump Up Employees
May 23, 2005— In 1985, SAS Institute had one small racquetball court and two locker rooms at its Cary, North Carolina,
headquarters. Demand was so high that there were long lines for the court, and
the hot water in the showers frequently ran out, according to Jack Poll, manager
of recreation and employee services at the software company. Employees repeatedly
expressed an interest in additional recreational facilities, and SAS stepped
up to the plate.
The Salary Basis Test May Trump Job Duties Test
May 11, 2005—Pharmacists employed by Wal-Mart claimed that they were not
paid on a "salary-basis" because
of Wal-Mart's practice of prospectively making adjustments in salary, with
a like adjustment in scheduled hours, to accommodate Wal-Mart's business
needs.
