A Wisconsin school district has agreed to pay $450,000 and raise employee salaries to settle the commission’s claims.

Published June 20, 2023 by Kate Tornone

A Wisconsin school district has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle claims it paid female employees less than their male counterparts, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Friday.

Verona Area School District paid nine female special education teachers and one female school psychologist less than more recently hired male employees for the same work, EEOC said. Each had comparable or greater experience than a male colleague but was paid $3,000 to $17,000 less.

Additionally, while the female employees’ repeated requests for raises were denied, the district repeatedly negotiated and agreed to salary increases sought by male teachers, EEOC said.

The commission sued, alleging the district had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. To settle the lawsuit, the district agreed to the monetary relief and agreed to raise the salaries of the women involved. It also will review its pay policy, conduct anti-discrimination training and post a notice about the lawsuit, according to the EEOC’s announcement.

“More than 60 years after the Equal Pay Act, it is not only illegal but unacceptable to treat men and women differently when negotiating and setting pay,” said Diane Smason, EEOC’s acting district director in Chicago, in a statement. “The EEOC will continue to vigorously investigate and enforce the law to make sure employees do not face such discrimination.”

The school district’s board of education president, Meredith Stier Christensen, told HR Dive in a statement that the parties worked together to resolve the dispute without going to trial. Additionally, the board in 2021 adopted a new governance model that included the creation of clear, formalized systems to ensure that lawful and equitable hiring and compensation practices are in place, Stier Christensen continued. “As a result of our robust oversight practices, the Board has full confidence that our administration’s proactive steps to achieve this critical outcome have been successful.”

Vice President Jennifer Murphy concurred: “We now have systems in place to effectively eliminate the type of concern raised in the EEOC complaint now and in the future.”

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/eeoc-salary-disparities-ranging-from-3k-to-17k-showed-gender-bias/653414/

You Can Put a Lot More Money Into Your HSA Next Year

By: Pete Grieve | Editor: Julia Glum | Published: May 17, 2023 

The contribution limit for health savings accounts (abbreviated HSAs) will get a large increase in 2024 to adjust for inflation, allowing Americans to save more money for medical expenses.

HSAs are a type of account you can open if you have a health insurance deductible above a certain threshold — $1,600 for individuals in 2024 — and want to grow a cushion for medical expenses.

HSA owners benefit from what's called a triple tax advantage. They can make tax-deductible contributions, therefore reducing their taxable income, and withdraw the funds for eligible expenses tax-free. The earnings also grow tax-free.

HSA contribution limits for 2024

The maximum amount of money you can put in an HSA in 2024 will be $4,150 for individuals and $8,300 for families. (People 55 and older can stash away an extra $1,000.)

The contribution limit is adjusted by the IRS every year, but the 2024 increase is bigger than normal due to inflation. In 2024, the limit will be $300 higher than this year’s limit of $3,850 for individuals and $550 higher than the 2023 limit for families of $7,750.

Maxing out a HSA isn’t feasible or recommended for everyone, but some Americans use them for retirement savings.

Money you put in an account can be invested, which can make HSAs a helpful tool to prepare for medical costs you're likely to incur when you’re older. Qualified expenses include deductibles, copayments and other medical charges; HSAs can also be used to pay for prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, hearing aids and menstrual products. Funds can be used to pay for some Medicare expenses like Part B deductibles.

The limit increase will allow people who are contributing to the max to put even more money into their HSAs next year.

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Source: Money

https://money.com/hsa-contribution-limit-2024/

By HRTech Specialist Last updated Apr 28, 2023

Pearl Meyer has published a new survey that points to a material change in US companies’ use of job titles. The 2023 Pearl Meyer Job Titling Practices Survey includes information for more than 400 public, private, and not-for-profit organizations and shows a substantial shift in the data from the prior edition, published in 2018.

“We have all heard and experienced so much turmoil in the job market over the last few years and much of the emphasis has been on a combination of compensation and flexibility in this war for talent,” said Rebecca Toman, vice president of the survey business unit at Pearl Meyer. “However, our data indicate that companies are also increasingly reliant on job titles as an important component of their strategy.”

More than half of the companies surveyed (54%) are leveraging job titles to attract prospective employees, a 35% increase from 2018. There has also been an increase from 30% to 38% in the use of a job title to determine eligibility for some compensation programs.

“Where we see the most eye-popping numbers is in the significant effort to reward and retain employees through the use of titles,” said Toman. “Thirty-seven percent of respondents are actively applying titles as a way to retain key employees, which is up from 27% in 2018. Further, a third of those surveyed use titles to reward current employees and this is a 74% increase from pre-pandemic levels.”

Signaling a need to retain and reward the existing workforce in the face of a potential economic slowdown, the survey shows a growing number of companies (13%) are explicitly deploying job titles “when funds are limited.”

“Job titles can be practical tools for employers and compensation professionals, but in general, I would not rely on them as a strong retention option unless they are backed up by a pay increase,” said Susan Sandlund, managing director and leadership practice lead at Pearl Meyer. “This data may indicate some employers are recognizing that in the absence of large compensation increases, they need to offer something to key employees. I see this as a somewhat positive development in terms of recognizing there are rewards beyond pay that have meaning to individuals. However, I would counsel organizations to likewise focus on career development opportunities and keep a close eye on maintaining a positive corporate culture. These elements are proven retention tools.”

 Key Findings: Changing Uses or Drivers of Job Titles Between 2018 and 2023

• Recognize and/or reward employees when funds are limited: from 8% to 13%, a 62.5% increase
• Reward current employees: 19% to 33%, a 74% increase
• Retain current employees: 27% to 37%, a 37% increase
• Attract prospective employees: 40% to 54%, a 35% increase
• Determine eligibility for certain compensation programs: 30% to 38%, a 27% increase

Methodology and Availability

Pearl Meyer’s Job Titling survey is conducted periodically; the last survey was published in 2018. More than 400 respondents from public, private, not-for-profit/government chartered organizations contributed data to the 2023 survey. Respondents’ annual revenue, assets, or operating budget ranged from under $100 million to over $30 billion. Results are offered according to revenue and broad industry groupings (industrials/materials; consumer discretionary/staples/services; healthcare; financials; information technology/telecom services; and energy/utilities). Complete survey results include a full list of participating organizations and are available for purchase.

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Source: HR Technology News 

https://techrseries.com/executive-leadership/pearl-meyer-survey-shows-significant-change-in-job-title-practices-pre-and-post-pandemic/

The effects of COVID-19 and economic concerns are causing some workers to delay retirement and some retirees to head back into the workforce.

Published May 4, 2023 | By: Ginger Christ

Dive Brief:

• The confidence workers and retirees have that they’ll have enough money for retirement fell starkly in 2023 — a level of decline not seen since 2008 during the Great Recession, according to the 33rd annual Retirement Confidence Survey released April 27 by the not-for-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute and research firm Greenwald Research. 
• Of the 2,537 surveyed in early 2023, 64% of workers believed they would be able to live comfortably in retirement, down from 73% in 2022, and 73% of retirees shared that confidence, a drop from 77% last year. Workers and retirees attribute their concern to having little or no savings, inflation and debt, the survey found.
• “The confidence both workers and retirees have in their ability to finance their retirements dropped significantly in 2023. … This shows that the current economic climate, in particular inflation, is eroding the confidence that Americans had in their retirement preparations going into the pandemic,” Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at EBRI, said in a news release.

Dive Insight:

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic concerns are causing some workers to delay retirement and some retirees to head back into the workforce. 

Seventy-one percent of the 2,002 respondents in a survey commissioned by 401(k) plan provider Human Interest said the pandemic changed their target retirement age. Among those who had a “very difficult time” during the pandemic, 71% said they plan to delay retirement. 

“With the pandemic’s after-effects and ongoing inflation, people have had a revelation about retirement,” Eric Phillips, senior director of partnerships and strategic insights at Human Interest, said when the results were released in November. “In the past three years, 42% of employees with a retirement benefit at work say they saw their employer contribution get cut.” 

Some workers are turning to pre-retirement, a transition period between full-time work and retirement, the survey found. 

On the other side, some retirees are rejoining the workforce. Twenty percent of respondents to a Resume Builder poll last year said they planned to return to work that year. Sixty-nine percent attributed that decision to rising costs.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/worker-confidence-in-retirement-drops/649199/

PUBLISHED MAY 16, 2023

Job seekers’ relocating for new jobs fell to the lowest level on record in the first quarter of 2023, as employers continue to offer remote and hybrid positions and job seekers become unwilling to move for work. Meanwhile, rising interest rates mean buying homes becomes a less attractive option as well, according to data released Monday by global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The data comes from a survey of over 3,000 job seekers across the country the firm conducts quarterly.

Relocation For New Jobs Grinds to a Halt

In the first quarter, 1.6% of job seekers relocated for new positions, according to the survey, down from 3.7% in the final quarter of 2022 and 4.6% in the same quarter last year. It is much lower than the 7.5% of job seekers who moved for positions in the second quarter of 2020, the highest since Q4 2018, when 7.7% of job seekers relocated.

 

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©

 

“In the 1980’s and 90’s, nearly a third of job seekers would move for new positions. That has fallen steadily since, as housing costs have risen and companies have moved to where talent pools are located. Now, remote and hybrid positions are keeping workers at home,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

 

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©

 

The reluctance to move is possibly the result of job seeker demand for remote work options, though companies appear to be offering them less often. According to a new Challenger survey conducted online in April and May among 170 companies nationwide, 39% of companies are offering fully remote work options, down from 44% of companies who offered them last fall, and 61% who offered them Spring 2022. Fully remote work offerings peaked in Fall 2022, when 73% of companies offered them to their workers and hires, according to Challenger.

“Many employers are recalling workers to the office, at least for part of the time. Hybrid work is becoming much more common, and job seekers who are holding out for fully remote may have to concede some time to the office,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

In fact, 32% of companies report most of their workers are in the office, though they’re allowing remote work on a case-by-case basis. That is up from 13% who reported this last fall. Of those companies with hybrid options, most workers are in the office two days a week with 29%, while 26% are in 3 days a week. Another 13% are in the office 4 days a week.

“Another reason job seekers have refused to move for work is the cost. With interest rates continuing to rise, mortgage rate increases and persistent inflation, the cost of selling a house and finding other housing may not be worth it to job seekers,” said Challenger.

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Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas

https://www.challengergray.com/blog/q1-2023-job-seeker-relocation-falls-to-lowest-on-record-as-remote-hybrid-work-persists/

ARLINGTON, VA, March 6, 2023 — Demand for international pensions and savings vehicles is continuing to grow as employers try to optimize their benefits packages for different groups within their global workforce, research by WTW showed today.

WTW (NASDAQ:WTW), a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company, launched its latest International Pension Plan Survey, which covered 1023 International Pension and Savings Plans (IPPs and ISPs). A quarter (23%) of these were set up in the last five years, reflecting the growth in demand. Assets under management of the surveyed IPPs and ISPs reached US$19.3bn, up 5% from the previous year.

Around half (51%) of the IPPs and ISPs were set up for expatriate workers unable to stay in their ‘home’ country plans, while at the same time either locked out of their ‘host’ country arrangements or likely not entitled to a benefit from any potential ‘host’ plan.

But IPPs and ISPs can also solve savings problems for various other employee groups. One in eight (13%) plans were established to include and serve local employees, often in countries at risk of economic or political instability.

“

Companies are facing skills shortages in many hotspots across the world and are redefining their employee experience and total benefits offer to stay competitive.”

Tony Broomhead | managing director, Integrated and Global Solutions, WTW

Tony Broomhead, managing director, Integrated and Global Solutions, WTW, said: “Companies are facing skills shortages in many hotspots across the world and are redefining their employee experience and total benefits offer to stay competitive. Many multinationals, charities, and international governmental organisations are looking for ways to offer minimum yet sufficient levels of pensions and savings to their global staff.

“Expats are often excluded from joining local ‘host’ pension schemes, or it may be inadvisable for them to do so. And local staff in many countries may also have limited options, or any savings may face the risk of economic instability or local sovereign debt default. International plans are a flexible way for employers to offer these vital benefits in a secure and efficient way.

“Companies are looking at setting up IPP or ISP solutions that can meet and fix multiple pensions challenges within the business. These plans can serve various expat groups, such as foreign staff excluded from local plans like the Central Provident Fund in Singapore, or to reward executives subject to capped ‘home’ country benefits. In the Middle East and GCC these international plans can be used to fund mandatory gratuities.

“More recently these plans can help meet DEI objectives whereby plan sponsors are keen to be able to report that by including an IPP they are now able to offer access to a pension plan to all their global staff.”

The WTW IPP Survey 2023 also found that:

• Of the 1 in 8 plans offered to local employees in countries facing more challenging political and economic circumstances, Egypt was the most popular location for such IPPs/ISPs. 32 plans included Egypt-based savers. Argentina-based employees were in 31 plans, Lebanon 28, Sri Lanka 16, and Ecuador 15.
• ESG considerations are an emerging focus for IPPs and ISPs, with 163 plans indicating that they reviewed the fund range in the past 12 months for ESG considerations, which includes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion audits.
• 71% of plans were established with a 'retirement objective' (IPPs), and 29% have a shorter-term 'savings objective' (ISPs).
• Almost all (94%) IPPs are defined contribution, with employer contribution rates typically ranging from 10% to 14%.
• IPPs/ISPs are offered by companies in all business sectors, but particularly in banking and finance, which accounted for 26% of plan sponsors, followed by oil and gas (9%), and consumer goods and retail (7%).

About the Survey

The WTW International Pension Plan Survey 2023 was conducted in Q4 2022 and covers 1023 IPPs and ISPs sponsored by 955 companies. It is the 15th edition of the survey. Download a free copy here.

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Source: WTW

https://www.wtwco.com/en-US/news/2023/03/global-employers-look-to-creative-cross-border-pensions-to-help-expats-and-local-workers-in-unstable

Feb. 22, 2023, 7:19 AM

Khorri Atkinson - Senior Labor & Employment Reporter

Chris Marr - Staff Correspondent 

A former offshore oil rig worker earning more than $200,000 a year is eligible for overtime pay under federal law, the US Supreme Court ruled.

The high court’s Wednesday ruling upheld a US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit September 2021 decision that former Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. worker Michael Hewitt wasn’t exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirement because the company paid him a day rate and not a guaranteed weekly salary.

The day-rate basis on which Hewitt was paid, “so that he receives a certain amount if he works one day in a week, twice as much for two days, three times as much for three, and so on” doesn’t count as a salary basis to exempt him from the FLSA’s overtime protections, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the 6-3 majority.

The case has significant implications for the energy industry because of its use of day rates instead of salary rates to compensate workers, including highly paid employees on oil-field or offshore jobs.

The heart of the case comes down to the relationship between the FLSA’s implementing regulations governing overtime pay exemptions for highly compensated executives, administrative, and professional employees.

To be exempt, executives must be paid on a salary basis, meaning their predetermined pay must be “calculated on a weekly, or less frequent basis” and not tied to the hours worked per week. They also must have a minimum pay threshold of $684 per week.

The regulations also say workers paid on an hourly, daily, or shift basis can be classified as salaried, and thus overtime exempt, as long as their employer guarantees “at least the minimum weekly-required amount” despite the number of hours, days, or shifts worked.

Helix argued that, because Hewitt was an executive who received more than the minimum weekly pay and whose compensation never changed, the case should end there.

But Hewitt said Helix never offered him a minimum weekly guaranteed pay, so his day rate earnings can’t be classified as a salary.

Clement & Murphy PLLC represents Helix. Boies Schiller Flexner LLP represents Hewitt.

The case is Helix Energy Sols. Grp., Inc. v. Hewitt, U.S., No. 21-984, 2/22/23.

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Source: Bloomberg Law

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/supreme-court-holds-six-figure-worker-entitled-to-overtime-pay

Board Rules that Employers May Not Offer Severance Agreements Requiring Employees to Broadly Waive Labor Law Rights

Office of Public Affairs
202-273-1991
publicinfo@nlrb.gov
www.nlrb.gov

February 21, 2023

Today, the Board issued a decision in McLaren Macomb, returning to longstanding precedent holding that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The decision involved severance agreements offered to furloughed employees that prohibited them from making statements that could disparage the employer and from disclosing the terms of the agreement itself.  

The decision reverses the previous Board’s decisions in Baylor University Medical Center and IGT d/b/a International Game Technology, issued in 2020,  which abandoned prior precedent in finding that offering similar severance agreements to employees was not unlawful, by itself.  

Today’s decision, in contrast, explains that simply offering employees a severance agreement that requires them to broadly give up their rights under Section 7 of the Act violates Section 8(a)(1) of the Act. The Board observed that the employer’s offer is itself an attempt to deter employees from exercising their statutory rights, at a time when employees may feel they must give up their rights in order to get the benefits provided in the agreement.      

“It’s long been understood by the Board and the courts that employers cannot ask individual employees to choose between receiving benefits and exercising their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.  Today’s decision upholds this important principle and restores longstanding precedent,” said Chairman Lauren McFerran.   

Members Wilcox and Prouty joined Chairman McFerran in issuing the decision. Member Kaplan dissented.

Established in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects employees from unfair labor practices and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair labor practice charges each year.

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Source: National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/board-rules-that-employers-may-not-offer-severance-agreements-requiring?utm_campaign=hrb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew

PUBLISHED TUE, FEB 21 20236:00 AM ESTUPDATED TUE, FEB 21 20236:59 AM EST

KEY POINTS

• Home Depot said it will spend an additional $1 billion to raise hourly employees’ wages.
• The home improvement retailer is the latest to signal that the labor market is still tight.
• Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, recently announced it would raise its minimum wage to $14 an hour for store employees.

Home Depot on Tuesday said it will spend an additional $1 billion to give its hourly employees a raise, as retailers and restaurants compete for workers.

The home improvement retailer announced the wage investment as it reported fourth-quarter earnings. It did not disclose the new average wage for employees, but said every market’s starting wage is at least $15 an hour.

Hourly workers will see the increase, which went into effect on Feb. 6, this month in their paychecks. The increase will boost pay for all hourly workers in the U.S. and Canada.

With the move, Home Depot becomes the latest major retailer to signal that the labor market is still tight — especially when it comes to lower-wage hourly workers. Across the jobs market, the data is still strong: The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in and nonfarm payroll growth was better than expected in December, the most recently available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Several big-name tech companies and banks, including Google, Amazon and Goldman Sachs, have laid off thousands of employees. So far, however, retailers, restaurants and the hospitality industry has largely bucked the trend — and even announced plans to hire or boost pay.

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, recently announced it would raise its minimum wage to $14 an hour for store employees and have an an average U.S. hourly wage of more than $17.50, as of early March. Chipotle Mexican Grill said it wants to hire 15,000 restaurant workers ahead of its busy spring season.

The companies have made those plans, despite industry-watchers’ expectations for slower sales growth in the year ahead. Companies have cited labor costs among the things driving up their budgets. But they also feel pressure to increase pay as prices rise for groceries, rent and other essentials.

Home Depot is one of the country’s largest private employers with about 475,000 workers. The vast majority of its employees are hourly workers at its approximately 2,300 stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Its frontline employees, who will receive the wage increases, also work in supply chain, customer care and merchandising roles.

In an email to employees that was shared with CNBC, Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said the investment “positions us more favorably in every market where we operate.” He said higher wages will improve the customer experience as the company attracts more high-quality workers and keep experienced staff.

“This investment will help us attract and retain the best talent into our pipeline,” he said.

Home Depot has added more training opportunities, too, he said, including the promotion of more than 65,000 employees in 2022 alone.

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Source: CNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/21/home-depot-hourly-workers-raise.html

A new Vestwell research report details emerging retirement trends for employers and workers.

Reported by NOAH ZUSS

Employers failing to offer workers a retirement benefit have dismissed a basic feature demanded by employees, Vestwell research finds.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers’ expectations for their workplace benefits are higher and dissatisfaction has contributed to the post-pandemic Great Resignation and a historically low U.S. unemployment rate of 3.5% in December. Many expect employers to offer a retirement plan benefit, according to the Vestwell 2023 Retirement Trends Report.

“Regulatory tailwinds and advanced technologies have enabled a monumental shift in the industry, expanding retirement access to small businesses and savers that are historically difficult to reach,” Aaron Schumm, founder and CEO of Vestwell, said in a press release.

The research found 73% of employees said they agreed or strongly agreed that they expect employers to offer a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan because of the tight labor market and 98% of respondents said they think it’s important for their employer to offer a retirement benefit for employees at the workplace.

Voya Financial Research shows a retirement plan is as important for employee retention as a competitive salary and work arrangement, according to November data 2022, that finds 60% of workers are more likely to stay with their current employer if they offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Among registered voters 25 and older, 96% said that having a workplace retirement savings plan is important to helping them save for retirement, and 92% supported establishing a program to help workers save for retirement if their employer does not currently provide a retirement plan at work, according to American Association of Retired persons 2021 data, presented in a blog post.

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, a package of legislative retirement reforms passed by Congress in December 2022, included provisions to expand retirement plan benefit coverage. The legislation “significantly sweetens the deal for small businesses” interested in offering a retirement plan for the first time, according to the report.

The favorability for employer-sponsored retirement plans at work was shown by workers’ reported saving preference, ranked as follows:

• 401(k) (57%)
• cash balance plan (23%)
• individual retirement account (11%)
• emergency savings account first (4%)
• health savings accounts at the top (3%)
• 529 college savings plans (2%).

“A super-majority of [the] responding population indicated that they see retirement benefits as an expectation, rather than an exceptional perk,” the report found. “Employers seeking to differentiate their benefits package may consider offering additional savings benefits beyond just a retirement plan.”

Vestwell found 89.6% of employees expect companies that offer a retirement plan to also be involved in retirement education. To meet this demand, employers want to work with retirement plan advisers: 30% of plan sponsor respondents placed employee education as the top preferred service among expanded services for employers.

The “survey [data] shows an opportunity for small businesses, technology providers, and advisers to come together and embrace the new savings paradigm of 2023: where retirement plans are an expectation, employers are expanding their benefits, and employees have confidence in their position in the market,” the report concluded.

Data for the Vestwell report was gathered in a series of surveys, conducted in 2022, that included more than 1,300 employees, 500 advisers and 250 small business owners.

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Source: PLANSPONSOR

https://www.plansponsor.com/plans-use-digital-nudges-to-move-plan-participants-toward-retirement-goals/