Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Employers tread a thin line ensuring their benefits and program offerings are compliant with laws and regulations and respectful of a diverse population of employees. Sometimes, these debates go beyond water cooler chit-chat and enter the larger, mainstream discussion. EBN has compiled five employee benefits that have spurred caustic debate, both inside and outside the HR/benefits sphere. [Images: Thinkstock]

HR professionals have seen it all from job applicants — from chewing gum to texting mid-interview. Hiring and HR managers shared their most unusual interview memories in a recent CareerBuilder survey of more than 3,000 employers. The candidates included here didn’t make great first impressions, to put it mildly.

This Sunday, America’s hottest celebrities will walk the red carpet in celebration of the 84th annual Academy Awards. Just because the average person will be watching the celebration at home in their slippers, doesn’t mean they’re not superstars. To help CEOs and other senior executives identify employees worthy of an accolade, Dr. Paul H. Eccher, co-founder and principal of The Vaya Group, a talent management company, and author of Optimizing Talent: What Every Leader and Manager Needs to Know to Sustain the Ultimate Workforce, put together the following list of characteristics that signal superstar employees.

Think you’ve seen/heard it all from employees looking to claim questionable reimbursements on expense reports? Think again. Robert Half Management Resources polled CFOs on the most unusual submissions; here are the funniest—and most fraudulent—responses.

Defined benefit plan sponsors say controlling funded status volatility will be their top priority this year, according to a poll from SEI. The poll surveyed 50 executives overseeing U.S. corporate DB plans that range from $25 million to $10 billion in assets. Here’s a list of their other top concerns.

With all of the rules and regulations governing benefits delivery and administration, industry pros can be left feeling like they are traversing a minefield. However, knowledge is power. So, the first step to avoiding benefits’ biggest pitfalls is knowing what they are. We’ve outlined five of them for you here.

The beginning of a new calendar year is an opportune time for employers to take a careful look at their overall global mobility strategy to make sure it matches business goals and is working well. Mercer has compiled 12 action items that HR professionals at multinational organizations can take now to ensure their international assignment policies are competitive and aligned with business objectives in 2012.

Employers can stay on the right side of regulators by complying with laws and regulations governing employee benefits. As the regulatory landscape changes, plan sponsors and administrators who keep pace with new requirements and filings prevent errors and problems down the road. CliftonLarsonAllen LLP offers these Top 10 Employee Benefits Compliance and Reporting Concerns as a tool or aid for keeping plan administration on the straight and narrow.

Chronic latecomers can cause headaches for HR/benefits professionals aiming to keep an entire employee population happy and productive. While flexible work arrangements continue to spread throughout the mainstream American workforce, excessive tardiness can lead to dismissal. In fact, a recent CareerBuilder survey shows that 34% of employers have terminated an employee for being chronically late. Employees admit their timeclock struggles, with 16% of workers reporting they arrive late to work once a week or more (up from 15% last year), and another 27% saying they arrive late to work at least once a month (up from 26% last year), CareerBuilder finds. With those kinds of numbers, managers no doubt have heard it all when it comes to employees’ tardiness excuses. Here are the 10 most outrageous ones, according to the CareerBuilder survey.

From outcomes-based incentives to helping employees through the health care maze to social media, there’s a lot in store this year for employer wellness programs. Beena Thomas, MPH, vice president, health and wellness for OptumHealth, gives us her take on the top four wellness trends of 2012.