Employer Strategies

First, there was the Taco Bell meat lawsuit. And now, there's the Taco Bell haircut lawsuit.

Staff from the Boston and Glastonbury, Conn., offices of CPA firm CCR will compete to be the first office to “walk” to San Francisco as part of the firm’s new Wellness Trek to San Francisco.

While many firms may have allowed their employees to enjoy somewhat lax dress code rules over the summer months, fall is around the corner and it’s time to get back to business. Say goodbye to some of the loopholes within your corporate dress codes, and welcome back the basics of formal dress in the office.

Women are less likely than men to concentrate on financial planning, according to a new survey on financial wellbeing and health.

U.S. health insurance companies must offer women free birth control and other preventive health care services under Obama administration rules released on Monday, a historic decision supported by family planning groups and opposed by conservative groups. The rules from the Health and Human Services Department are part of the nation's healthcare overhaul and largely follow recommendations from an advisory group released last month. …

It's long been said that what you don't know won't hurt you. Whoever said that clearly had no knowledge of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Since its enactment in March 2010, PPACA and its impact on health plans, wellness programs,long-term care and even adoption benefits can definitely harm benefits pros who aren't on top of its provisions.

CHICAGO — There is a need for an “extreme makeover” in the house of benefits with a delivery system built on partnership, collaboration, accountability and engagement — rather than competitiveness, says Larry Boress of the Midwest Business Group on Health. Read more from Associate Editor Brian Kalish as he reports from Employee Benefit Adviser’s Workplace Benefits Mania Conference at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park.

Running a small business well requires the ability to gather and manage a vast array of data, from sales leads to customer complaints and employee vacation time. Because this information is so critical, business automation companies, such as Basecamp, LiquidPlanner and Salesforce.com, charge good money to organize it.

Not every business suffers during a recession. Some industries even thrive because they are recession-proof. But many others experience reduced revenues and lower profitability, even as the economy slowly recovers. But regardless of which side of the downturn you are on, you should downsize, tighten procedures, control expenses, and hold on to profitability as best as you can.

For many employees faced with the prospect of having to save for rising healthcare costs and for retirement, it's important to understand that it doesn't necessarily have to be an either/or decision.