Employee benefits

A survey of CFOs in the U.S. and Europe found more willingness to hire in the final six months of the year in the U.S. than in Europe.

Communities known for paying the most on health care may not be spending as much as once thought, according to new data released on Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance on how a plan sponsor can demonstrate that it is not using reimbursements received under the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program as general revenue by maintaining the level of its contributions to the plan. Leeds & Schoner take you through the loops.

Facebook is on the move...literally. In relocating its headquarters campus, the company recently redesigned and retrofitted the former Sun Microsystems campus in Menlo Park, Calif., to LEED Gold standard while also integrating attributes of its own culture into the retrofit. New open office spaces reflect Facebook's ways: flexible, comfortable and social. The company greatly values its employees' comfort in and preferences for their work spaces. It sees its built environment as a prominent contributor to their productivity.

Fourteen years ago when Chuck Robbins started at Cisco, “you had a desk and you put your name outside the desk.” Now after more than a decade, the workstyle at the company has changed nearly beyond recognition, becoming incredibly accommodating to remote teams. And Robbins has thrived in this innovate environment, rising to the position of senior VP and running the organization’s sales team for the Americas.

More employers are slashing budgets, which often equals cutting benefits. No more 401(k) matching, a high-deductible health plan becomes the only option, and money gets tight and employees see it and feel it. Enter the group legal plan. It doesn’t cancel out employees’ sticker shock over an HDHP, but it does mean that at a relatively low cost, an employee can see an attorney at, say, $15.95 a month.

The U.S. IDI market saw a significant drop in premiums between 2008 and 2009, and while that drop continued between 2009 and 2010, it was far less severe, according to global consulting and actuarial firm Milliman Inc. Even with the premium drop, there is an underlying strength in claim experience and overall profitability, Milliman concludes in its annual IDI market survey.

Health care reform in Massachusetts hasn't lessened the pressure on providers that care for the poor, a new study shows.

1. The poor fit. Bibby Gignilliat, 51, chief executive of Parties that Cook in San Francisco, thought she had hired a winner but found her new employee’s customer-service skills far from polished. “She kept saying things were ‘awesome’ and ‘totally cool’ and she would use ‘like’ every other word, even after repeated coaching, making a bad impression on customers," Gignilliat says

If you offer your employees vacation time, you may be wondering whether and when you can deny a vacation request.

Almost half the workers in Verizon Communications' wireline telecommunications business went on strike on Sunday as negotiations for a new labor contract failed.

Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), ranking member on the senate health, education, labor and pensions (HELP) committee, released a report Tuesday showing access to child-only health insurance plans has declined significantly since passage of the new health care law. Enzi says the Department of Health and Human Services has failed to take action to address problems created by the new regulations.

Despite a down economy, customers are willing to pay for more quality from their health insurance providers, according to a recent survey. In fact, close to 50% of those queried say they are willing to pay more for quality customer service.

Almost half of employers surveyed in July by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company say they plan to add voluntary benefits to their plans within the next year.

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.