BizAnalyst Network

Many Employers Choose Not To Adopt FSA Grace Period
Although half of U.S. employers plan to permit employees to take advantage of an IRS grace period allowing carryover of their unused flexible spending account (FSA) money earmarked for health care expenses, only a third of those polled plan to extend the same deadline for dependent care FSAs, a new survey shows.
(SHRM Members Only)

Cost of Employer-Provided Benefits Is Cutting into Wages
U.S. employers—facing steadily increasing benefits costs as well as demographic, economic, legal and legislative headaches—are being forced to cut into wages to provide key benefits to their workers, says a new Employment Policy Foundation report. Health care benefits alone were the equivalent of 10 percent of wages in 2003, according to the report; that's predicted to rise to 25 percent by 2015.

Have Plan Before Employee Data Is Lost
Your CFO walks in your door and says that employees' personal data has been stolen. You're the HR expert, he says; fix it. So what do you do?
(SHRM Members Only)

Employees Suffer Drop in Morale but Remain Loyal
Now that things seem to be better in the business world than at any time in the past several years, U.S. workers want their rewards. However, according to a new report, those rewards aren't materializing fast enough. That's making for an increasingly unhappy workforce, according to the report.
(SHRM Members Only)

As Katrina approached, HR shifted into action mode
What appeared to be a “small nuisance” on Friday turned over the weekend into a category 5 hurricane that found the vice president of human resources for Southern Farm Bureau’s Jackson, Miss., office searching the building’s grounds on Sunday for objects that might become airborne missiles and arranging for a backup generator.
Hurricane Katrina was generally perceived as only a moderate threat late last week. By Sunday night, however, Southern Farm Bureau’s Bill Simms and HR professionals like him across the Gulf Coast region were taking steps to limit damage to their businesses and, in particular, to encourage workers to stay away from danger.
(SHRM Members Only)

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Featured in SHRMStore
Decent People, Decent Company
Decent People, Decent Company puts the power to develop the core qualities of leadership character into the hands of anyone dedicated to bringing integrity, respect and personal responsibility back to the workplace—regardless of his or her place in the organization. The book identifies the eight essential traits of leadership character. In chapters that focus on each quality individually, dozens of leaders describe the struggles and triumphs of developing the behaviors of character and ethical leadership required to bring out the best in everyone.

LEADING INDICATOR OF NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT
LINE Falters in August
The SHRM/Rutgers Leading Indicator of National Employment (LINE) slipped from 61.8 in July to 60.6 in August. Although growth in manufacturing employment slowed this month, increasing difficulty in recruiting skilled workers to fill key positions is leading some employers to offer higher starting wages.