News Brief headerThe results are in from this year’s Brake Safety Week, an annual campaign that’s part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Operation Airbrake program. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness regarding the importance of brake maintenance and efficiency, as well as reduce brake-related crashes on the road.

Keep reading to learn more about Brake Safety Week and review the key findings from this year’s event.

The Vision Council reported that more than 70% of Americans don’t know—or don’t believe—that they could suffer from eye strain.

The reality is that most adults are on digital media for about four to six hours each day. If your job involves working on a computer and you’ve been logging on from home, you may be racking up even more hours than normal in front of a brightly lit screen.

HR Compliance Bulletin header imageThe U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule on defining and delimiting the exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees (EAP employees) became effective Jan. 1, 2020. Among other things, the final rule updated the standard salary level employees must satisfy to qualify for an overtime exemption.

The final rule also allows employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level if these payments are made at least on an annual basis. To enable compliance with the nondiscretionary bonus option, the final rule allows employers to make a “catch-up” payment at the end of each 52-week period. This Compliance Overview explains how this provision can be used.

HR Insights Blog HeaderA successful business is all about accountability. Each worker’s individual contributions build on one another and culminate into something greater, to the benefit of the company and its customers.

Conversely, when some individuals struggle with their performance, the entire organization can suffer. Unfortunately, addressing poor performance isn’t always easy. This is especially true amid the COVID- 19 pandemic, as remote working often makes accountability more complicated. This article offers five tips to help employers manage poor performance in the workplace, even while everyone is working from home.

Trends at a glance header

Many employee benefits are subject to annual dollar limits that are periodically updated for inflation by the IRS. The following commonly offered employee benefits are subject to these limits:

• High deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs); • Health flexible spending accounts (FSAs); • 401(k) plans; and • Transportation fringe benefit plans. The IRS typically announces the dollar limits that will apply for the next calendar year well in advance of the beginning of that year. This gives employers time to update their plan designs and make sure their plan administration will be consistent with the new limits.