Exam 13: Managing Employee Benefits

Pfalz Bakeries,Inc.,has experienced problems staffing its operations during the week of Mardi Gras,even though this is a busy and profitable time period for the company.Many employees schedule their vacations during Mardi Gras,but demand for king cakes peaks during this week.The HR manager feels it would have a negative impact on employee morale to ban any vacations during Mardi Gras week.Which of the following is the best option for the HR manager to maintain staffing levels and bakery sales?

Charlene,the director of compensation,wishes to estimate the administrative costs of the current benefits program,so that she can use that as a basis for evaluating alternative administrative methods.One of the most useful calculations Charlene can make is

Gigantic MotorVehicles,Inc.,has more retired employees than currently-employed workers.As part of its generous benefits plan in decades past,it provided all of its retirees with full medical benefits.Most of GMV's retirees are on fixed and limited incomes,and are barely making ends meet with savings,pension,and Social Security.In addition,many of the most elderly of the retirees,those over 80,have significant and expensive medical problems.Most of the retirees spent their entire careers with GMV,and actually took and kept these jobs just so that they could retire with good pensions and benefits.GMV has had disastrous financial performance over the past few years and has been cutting costs as much as possible without destroying the company's ability to perform.As HR director,your face all of the following issues EXCEPT

Hugo is 45 and has been laid off by his employer,which is moving his job as a customer service representative to a company in India.Hugo figures he will need to work at least 20 more years,and he has little money in savings set aside for retirement.Hugo wants to find a job with an employer with a defined-benefit pension plan.Which of the following employers would be MOST likely to have such a pension plan?

Mike is working for a growing video game design company.One of the reasons he took the job is that if he bought stock in the company,the company would match the amount he invested.Mike feels that this would allow him to benefit from the company's growth,over and above just getting his regular salary and other benefits.This kind of plan is called a/an ____ plan.

Financial planning and counseling services are especially valuable and most widely used for younger employees who are not used to handling finances and who need to get started on investment programs.

Kevin is undergoing chemotherapy once a week on Fridays.Kevin has used up all of his personal days and sick leave for the year.He is able to take FMLA leave every Friday and will be able to continue FMLA leave until he has used up all that remain of his 60 days per year of FMLA leave.

During long-lasting economic declines,

Why do workers who do not have health insurance cause the health insurance rates to rise for employers who provide insurance for their workers?

George retired from a tire manufacturing company after 35 years.He has a union-negotiated defined-benefit plan.Even with the economic downturn,George still receives the same amount of pension every month.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)of 1993 provides that

Clara is running a 102 degree fever and she suspects she has the flu.But,Clara comes to work,anyway.Clara has large unpaid balances on her credit cards,and she plans to take no sick leave this year so that at the end of the year,her employer will "buy back" her unused sick leave.Clara will thus be receiving

How is workers' compensation usually funded?

Most Americans are moving into retirement with such inadequate savings and investments that they will have to rely on Social Security as their main source of financial support.

Mark has four children under the age of 15.His wife has had a serious health problem that will keep her from working for the next few years.Mark's employer,Megatherium Industries,has moved to a new health insurance plan which involves Megatherium making contributions to an account to which Mark can also make pre-tax contributions.Mark can spend the money in this account on health insurance.The insurance has an $11,600 deductible for Mark's family,so he will be out of pocket over $11,000 before his health insurance coverage starts paying for his family's care.Mark's annual pre-tax salary is $80,000.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

The most frequently outsourced benefits function is

Which of the following individuals is NOT qualified to receive unemployment compensation?

In a contributory pension plan,the money for pension benefits is paid by the

Bernardette has been told that her health benefits will not cover treatment for her recently-diagnosed multiple sclerosis.It is the utilization review specialist who has made this decision.

An attractive aspect of employer educational assistance is that in most cases the aid is not considered taxable income for the employee.