Here's a roundup of timely questions posed by readers of HR Specialist's Compensation & Benefits newsletter. You'll find answers on such hot topics as health insurance opt-out bonuses, differing pay structures for similar work, unemployment benefits for furloughed workers and paying for travel time.

Half of the college seniors who intern at Enterprise Rent-A-Car wind up working there after graduation. Indeed, the St. Louis-based company for many years has made BusinessWeek’s list of the 50 Best Places to Launch a Career.

The news that consulting giants TowersPerrin and WatsonWyatt are merging has sent shockwaves through the HR world. How will this alliance affect the consulting environment? Will it be good news or bad for HR pros who need outside help? Now more than ever, it may pay to hire someone to help you choose a consultant.

A new Watson Wyatt survey says 44% of employers plan to reverse pay cuts made during the recession. That’s up from 30% in June. Also, about one-third of employers plan to unfreeze salaries, up from 17%.

Issue: You're responsible for securing sensitive employee information. Benefits: Privacy measures and policies protect employees from identity theft and privacy invasion. Actions: Refine your privacy policy, institute a proper ...

Conflicts over religious accommodation in the workplace have spilled over into the courtroom, as more and more employees try to force employers to bend work schedules to fit their religious practices. What's an employer's duty to accommodate employees' religious observances?

The EEOC has issued proposed regulations for enforcing the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA), a sweeping law that took effect earlier this year. Among the changes: a new definition of what constitutes an ADA disability. With the EEOC in charge of suing to force compliance, you need to know the answers to these 10 questions.

I have a question about how to handle software training for our staff. We’re going to be upgrading all the PCs around the office over the next few months, and I’m worried that we’ll have a productivity slump. In particular with Windows 7 coming out, I have concerns that the new operating system and software will have a steep learning curve. We experienced that in spades with Windows Vista, and I don’t want a repeat. We have 18 employees who will be affected. Should we hire a trainer to come in? Send staff for off-site training? Rely on the software documentation and online support? I’d appreciate any advice.—Steve, NE

Managers can play a key role in creating an environment in which employees will want to look for new ideas. It’s important to let employees know that initiative and innovation are valued and that people who question will be rewarded—not labeled as troublemakers. Here are nine tips for removing barriers to employee creativity:

Disputes between co-workers and between employees and their bosses are almost inevitable—which is why every HR professional must know how to gather the necessary facts to find out what’s going on. Whether it is a small inquiry or a weighty investigation into serious allegations of misconduct, being deliberate and intentional about an investigation will create a more helpful and less disruptive process.

Congress is considering emergency legislation that would guarantee five paid sick days for workers directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus. Although passage is far from certain, the Emergency Influenza Containment Act is a bill worth monitoring.

Don’t depend on comprehensive health care reform to significantly cut the cost of the health insurance benefits you provide to employees. Many of America’s best companies have found that a few best practices do a remarkably good job of improving employee health and controlling health care expenses. Here are some of the best practices in health benefits used by America’s best employers.

Q. Our CEO just implemented a new employee evaluation goal that calls for employees to do charitable volunteer work throughout the year. The more they volunteer, the higher the points they receive on their review, ultimately increasing their salaries. Can we do this without risk?

Sometimes it’s best to scrap the metrics and go with your gut—even in the stats-happy world of professional sports. So far, the Minnesota Vikings are glad they did. Given Brett Favre’s remarkable season thus far, it’s probably a good thing that, before signing him, they didn’t pay any attention to a Bizjournals survey that ranked him 34th out the 36 NFL quarterbacks in 2008, when he played for the Jets.

Several states peg the minimum wage to the cost of living. For decades, inflation has meant cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that delivered regular pay raises. But what's happening now that the cost of living has declined 1.3% so far this year?

“Just take it out of HR’s budget.” If that’s a common refrain among your execs at budget-setting time, it’s time to fight back. "It’s more critical than ever for you to be able to create and defend your budgets,” says Valarie Grubb, VP of Operations and Initiatives at NBC Universal, who spent much of her career building and justifying budgets at large U.S. companies.

It happens to every manager: You sit down to prepare a staff member's review and realize you can remember only what the person has done the past few weeks. Supervisors should never rely solely on memory to evaluate employee performance. The most useful, easy-to-implement way is to create and maintain a log for each person. Here's how.

A new resource group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees at Choice Hotels International is doing double duty as a support system for workers and a humanitarian ambassador for the Silver Spring, Md.-based organization.

A key part of the ADA is the so-called “regarded as” rule. Essentially, it says that if your organization treats an employee as if he or she is disabled, then the employee earns the job protections provided under the ADA—even if he or she isn’t truly disabled. What does it take to “regard” someone as disabled? It can be as simple as jotting “disabled” on an application or employee paperwork.

What does it take to jump the fence from your administrative role and be seen as a true leader in the company? The HR Specialist posed the following question to three of the leading HR thought leaders in America today: “What are the actions that a true HR leader takes to demonstrate leadership within an organization?” Their answers pointed to the following six actions:

Amid layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts and frozen salaries, most organizations are holding onto their work/life benefits during the recession. And some of them are using flextime, telework and other employee favorites as cost-cutting strategies. Here are nine ways your organization can make strategic use of work/life benefits to cut costs, save jobs and pump up employee morale during the recession.

Are your employees performing the exact same tasks they were three years—or even three months—ago? Probably not. Layoffs have left millions of employees juggling their own tasks as well as those of departed co-workers. One byproduct: When employees’ job duties no longer qualify them as exempt from the FLSA, they can raise the “hourly” flag and sue for unpaid overtime pay.

Paul Falcone, author of 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees, offers these scripts to follow when you need to have awkward but essential conversations with employees. Here's what managers should say after they've said, "Hey, got a minute?" Falcone will present more of his powerful advice in Tough Talks: Scripts and Strategies for Difficult Employee Discussions, an HR Specialist webinar happening this Thursday, Nov. 12.

We're considering starting a "leave donation" program in which employees could contribute accrued sick, vacation and personal leave to co-workers whose ongoing health problems drain their own leave banks. It sounds like a great idea, but I want to make sure we do it right. For those of you who have such programs, what issues should I consider as I draft the policy? Have you experienced any unintended consequences?—Bill, Colorado