Nick Otto

In a major 5-4 ruling on religious freedom, the Supreme Court of the United States Monday ruled that religious rights of two Christian company owners trumped the rights of its employees to receive full contraceptive coverage promised by mandates in the Affordable Care Act.

The National Business Group on Health this week recognized 63 U.S. employers for their continued efforts in promoting healthy work environments and encouraging employee wellness.

A nearly 7% spike in health care costs in 2015 can be attributed to a revitalized economy, the modernization of health care technology and the drastic increase in specialty drug use.

In contradictory fashion, paying off debt was cited as the top reason for taking out a loan from retirement plan savings (46%), yet only 26% of respondents said paying off debt was a good reason to take out a loan.

For almost half the country, retirement might not be all golf games and trips to see grandkids, as many will be partially working in or through their golden years.

Starbucks is helping its full- and part-time employees earn college degrees through a partnership with Arizona State University's online program beginning this fall.

Although a vast majority of employers plan to continue providing health care benefits for their employees, many are taking drastic action to mitigate the health care reform law’s financial effects on their benefit strategies.

Automatic 401(k) features – including auto-enrollment, as well as plans that also automatically increase participant contributions each year – are beginning to have a significant impact on the success of employer-sponsored savings plans, and the balances of participants who’ve stayed in the game.

Employers in Southeast Michigan have projected an increase in health care costs this year. Still, to retain talent, businesses say they intend to continue offering health benefits to full-time employees, despite price increases resulting from the ACA.

Instead of looking outside to increase workforce diversity, companies should first look inside and develop an internal labor map of their own workforce. But, experts caution, analytics alone won’t create greater diversity and should be used in conjunction with other tools.

As employers face growing challenges with employee disengagement, many are looking toward wellness programs as the surest route to improve morale and workplace culture. And while the Affordable Care Act offers improved incentives to support workplace wellness programs, employers aren’t rushing to take advantage of them.

Business and education leaders are emphasizing an even greater need for immigration reform in the U.S. as highly skilled employees are being lost due to visa restrictions.

Despite its attempts to create a diverse workforce, even a superstar of the high-tech world admits its shortcomings. The overall makeup of Google’s workforce is still 70% male and 61% white, according to facts the company released Wednesday.

Running out of money in retirement trumps other stress-inducing pressures such as public speaking and gaining weight for affluent Americans. But despite the prospect of not having enough money to live on later in life, many are unwilling to cut spending on indulgences now in order to invest for retirement .

“Poor money management” has become the number one reason for consumers to seek financial counseling, overtaking “reduced income” for the first time in five years.

Even against the backdrop of a stronger economy, modern families are still feeling the pinch of financial security, pointing toward the need to tailor products to the needs of specific family structures that are considerably different than the traditional nuclear family.

Three of the top five employee-reward issues employers faced in 2008 remain consistent with current challenges, a recent Mercer survey reveals.

Mirroring a recent HHS initiative, some state-run marketplaces such as Covered California have extended a special enrollment period for COBRA-eligible individuals, allowing them to enroll in a marketplace exchange plan through July.

Mirroring a recent HHS initiative, some state-run marketplaces such as Covered California have extended a special enrollment period for COBRA-eligible individuals, allowing them to enroll in a marketplace exchange plan through July.

While small-business employers are just as keen on providing the same benefits as their big-business counterparts, a recent study says employers can look at offering competitive voluntary benefits as a way to entice employees and boost employee retention.