Under the Paid Vacation Act, introduced to the House of Representatives on May 21, companies with at least 100 employees would have to give all (full- and part-time) workers a paid week off each year after they’re employed for 12 months.

Three years after the law’s passed, the requirements would get tougher — previously covered employers would need to offer two paid weeks of vacation, and companies with at least 50 employees would need to offer one week.

The idea for the bill came to Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) while he was visiting Disney World, Politico reports. He says mandatory vacations will make employees happier and more productive, cut down on illnesses and stimulate the economy (especially in Grayson’s district, which includes Orlando).

The Paid Vacation Act was introduced just days after the Healthy Families Act (HFA), which would make paid sick leave mandatory.

What are the odds it’ll pass?

The bill has two co-sponsors (compared to the HFA’s 101), and many opponents have argued that now is not the right time to be adding this kind of burden to companies.

However, the bill’s supporters point out that 25% of American employees get no vacation time, and that 147 other countries have paid vacation laws.

We’ll keep you posted.

If the feds have their way, your absence policies will soon get a lot more complicated.

On March 18, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Healthy Families Act (HFA) to the House of Representatives. If passed, the law will require companies with at least 15 employees to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave a year.

Both full- and part-time workers would be eligible. They’d earn an hour of leave for every 30 they work, accruing up to 56 hours in a 12-month period. Employees would start accruing leave as soon as they’re hired and could use it after 60 days.

One troubling aspect for HR and managers: Covering for absent employees would be solely the company’s responsibility — the HFA says you can’t make workers find a replacement before using leave.

Like FMLA, employees can use the time to care for themselves or a family member. However, the HFA is less strict than the FMLA.”Family member” includes any blood relative and anyone whose relationship with the employee is “the equivalent of a family relationship.”

Employers may also require medical certification and could be sued for retaliating against an employee who uses sick days.

What about your current policies?

The bill states that employers already meeting the requirements of the law won’t have to offer additional leave. However, experts say it’s not clear what this means for employers with all-purpose PTO plans.

What chance does the bill have of passing? In the House, the HFA has 101 co-sponsors and could find favor among the Democrat majority. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) is expected to introduce a companion bill in the Senate soon.

Similar legislation was proposed in 2007 but was stalled, partially due to a veto threat from President Bush. However, Obama has vocally supported the bill and will sign it if it’s passed by Congress.

We’ll keep you posted.

You can read the text of the bill here.

The goods news: Few small or mid-sized companies are following suit.

Only 3% of employers plan on eliminating their 401(k) match this year, according to a recent survey by WorldatWork. Almost three quarters (74%) plan on keeping things the same, while 8% will likely decrease the match and 15% will actually increase it.

What it means to HR: Companies thinking about retooling retirement benefits to cut costs may want to reconsider — it may result in a big staffing disadvantage compared to competitors who keep their plans the same.

Most workers underestimate how much companies fork over to maintain benefits, according to a recent survey by Fidelity Investments.

The majority (53%) of employees think their companies pay less than $5,000 annually per worker to provide health insurance — when in fact, companies typically pay between $5,000 and $15,000 per person each year.

The good news: 72% of workers still think they’re getting benefits as good or better than what other companies are offering. But the bad news is they feel the value is decreasing — 61% of employees say they’re paying more for benefits and getting less or the same as a year ago.

Since healthcare and other benefits play a big role in people’s employment decisions, making sure everyone understands the value of what you’re offering is key to hanging on to the best employees.

For effective benefits communication, experts recommend HR and plan administrators skip the jargon and relay information in simple terms that touch on employees’ emotions.

Make sure employees fully understand their benefit plans.

Employees who say they’re well-educated about their benefits are 30% more likely to be satisfied with the plan, according to a survey by Univers Workplace Benefits.

Also, companies with employees who are knowledgeable about their benefits are 67% more likely than other employers to report turnover below 20%.

Open enrollment time gives you a great opportunity to spread the word and increase knowledge. Experts recommend these three communication strategies:

• group enrollment kits
• one-on-one meetings with HR or benefits staff, and
• paper enrollment kits.

Also, HR or benefits staffers can hold periodic meetings when any changes occur, or just to answer any employee questions.

Most employers aren’t doing so — 56% of companies don’t consider generational differences when planning compensation strategies, according to a recent study by World at Work. And only 3% are actively executing a plan that takes all generations into account.

Is that a bad thing? On one hand, with benefits such as health care and retirement plans, older employees may have significantly different wants and needs than their younger counterparts.

But on the other hand, all employees are different and may have varying preferences no matter what generation they’re in.

What about at your company? Do you offer different packages to attract workers in different age groups? Has it worked? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Answer: training and help with educations costs.

About 94% of companies offer employees some kind of tuition assistance, according to a recent survey of 150 employers conducted by Accountemps. Also, 95% help workers out with training and other forms of professional development.

Tuition assistance and other career help can be a great — and low-cost — way to aid recruitment and retention. And companies also benefit from boosting the skills of their employees.

A recent study of companies in one state may shed some light on national trends.

The Minnesota Employers Association recently did a survey of what new benefits employers are offering to help employees cope with commuting costs. The most common choices:

• Condensed weeks — 18.8% of companies are offering compressed schedules, and 5.5% have programs in the works.
• Telecommuting — 18.6% let some workers stay home, while 5.1% are planning to start.
• Gas cards — 9% of companies hand out gas station gift cards to reward high performance; 8% say they will soon.
• Car pooling — 8.4% have a program in place to help workers find car pool buddies, and 4.9% are planning some kind of help.
• Public Transit help — 6.9% subsidize public transportation, while 1.4% have plans in the works.
• Pre-tax accounts — 6.1% of employers sponsor pre-tax spending on public transit (1.4% have it planned).
• Fuel subsidies — 2.7% actually pay for some or all of the fuel employees use to get to and from work.

Let us know if you’ve done anything to combat the rise in fuel prices by leaving a comment below.

HR knows how to legally recruit and interview candidates — but that doesn’t mean hiring managers aren’t going to make costly mistakes from time to time.

Here are the five key areas managers need to look out for to keep your company out of court:

Interview questions

Questions about age, race, sex, family responsibilities, national origin and disabilities are off limits. Even if a manager doesn’t ask about those things directly, “small talk” questions like “Oh, what church do you go to?” or “Do you think you’ll ever have kids?” can give the impression of bias.

Interview notes

Information about a candidate’s protected status might come up when he or she answers other questions. But mangers must be absolutely sure not to write any notes related to those categories.

No matter what the reason for writing something down, to a judge or jury it usually means one thing — that the manager considered that information when making the hiring decision.

Questions from unsuccessful candidates

Managers have to be very careful about the comments they make if they have any contact with unsuccessful candidates — for example, if people ask them why they didn’t get hired.

In recent court cases, managers have said things along the lines of “We wanted someone who’d help our diversity,” or “You didn’t have the right look” — and ended up costing their companies big.

Remind managers to avoid answering those questions or stick with an all-purpose statement: “We filled the position with a more qualified candidate.”

Promises about the job

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a case in which a manager incorrectly told a candidate she’d get a certain benefits package — and she sued after she was hired and given less coverage.

The lesson for managers: Don’t exaggerate anything about the job. Even false statements of non-monetary things — for example, possibilities of promotion — could potentially lead to the company getting sued for making false promises.

Yes: 46%

No: 38%

We don’t have part-timers: 16%

Those that offer benefits typically don’t spend as much on them as they do with full-time staff. The most common benefits offered are 401k eligibility and paid vacation. Health and disability insurance are less common.

Should your compensation package for part-time workers include benefits? Maybe. If less than half of your competitors are doing it, then it may or may not make a difference. But some low-cost offerings could be enough to push you over the top.

Do you give benefits to part-timers? If so, what do you offer? Has it helped you recruit? Let us know in the comments section.