Not all the action on health care reform is happening in Washington. Plenty of employers are focusing closer to home, creating wellness programs that lower health care costs—and don't break the bank.

So many employees of Fox Kalomaski were taking leave for “beauty treatments” that the London-based advertising agency added an extra paid day off—and execs there call it “Botox leave.” The day off happens in December, says the managing director, who speculates employees need time to “make sure they’re looking their best for the Christmas party photos.”

The recession’s battering of the private sector isn’t the only thing driving job applicants to consider government employment, according to a new survey by CarerBuilder.com. Job-seekers also know that government agencies are among the few employers with budgets that might go up.

While some Web 2.0 tools are about socializing and idea-swapping, LinkedIn is the only tool completely devoted to business networking. Nurturing your online presence could lead to job offers, new knowledge or a beefed-up reputation as an expert.

Twenty percent of West Valley Staffing Group’s employees worked there for a while, left for other jobs, and then came back to claim their former positions. And many of the technology temp agency’s 60 employees have worked there for a decade or longer, even though most Silicon Valley firms suffer from high turnover. Perhaps it’s the perks ...

What would be the nicest and easiest way of telling an employee that we do not want to hire her daughter. We have used her daughter for several temp jobs in the past. She was OK, but we never would have hired her for a full-time job. This employee acts like it's our responsibility to keep her daughter employed every time a position becomes available in our admin department.—Tina, Tennessee

As the recession drags on, many employers have begun trimming compensation. If you plan to cut pay for exempt employees, do so with care. Handle it wrong, and you could run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law governing wage-and-hour practices. The worst-case: Cutting pay and hours could turn exempt employees into nonexempt hourly workers.

Six of 10 employers anticipate that their health care costs will increase as a result of the new federal COBRA subsidy law, says an Aon Consulting survey.

The FMLA seems straightforward in theory, but in real life, it’s full of tricky and delicate nuances. For example, what happens upon the death of a relative for whom an employee on FMLA leave has been providing care? How does compassion square with the law’s requirements?

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which takes effect Oct. 3, has more employers worried about rising health insurance premiums—and looking to employee assistance programs as a way to keep costs down. The law prohibits group health plans covering 50 or more employees from imposing extraordinary coverage caps on mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Q. For several years, Fridays have been “casual days” for our employees. Beer and wine are served beginning around 4:30 p.m. We hate to stop this practice because our employees seem to enjoy it and there has never been a problem. Should we stop?

It’s a mantra that can’t be repeated too often: Develop a policy, communicate it to your employees, investigate when you learn of possible infractions and, if wrongdoing did occur, punish those who violated the policy. It’s refreshing to report on an employer that did everything right and emerged victorious from court.

Q. An employee has asked me, as his direct supervisor, to provide him a recommendation on his LinkedIn page. He’s a good employee and I don’t see any harm in granting his request. Are there any risks?

Interview questions range from the simple (“Tell me about yourself.”) to the silly (“If you were an animal, what kind would you be?”). Here are some suggestions of effective questions from readers of The HR Specialist Forum.

This month's collection of real-world quick tips from American business leaders, brought to you by members of The Alternative Board.

Are some of your organization’s supervisors still stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to attitudes about pregnancy, childbirth and child care? If so, your organization may be a few off-base questions away from triggering a discrimination lawsuit. Remind managers and supervisors to keep their opinions on mothers and motherhood to themselves.

During a time of layoffs and budget cuts, you might not think a lot of organizations would be encouraging their employees to take lengthy sabbaticals—or that employees would feel secure enough to accept the offer. Yet six-week to six-month job pauses remain as common as ever. There are good reasons why the sabbatical is enduring even as other benefits become expendable.

Progressive discipline is a system in which penalties increase upon repeat occurrences. But don’t pick and choose which employees you run through progressive discipline. It’s critical to apply those procedures to all employees or none, as this new case shows ...

What can we do? One of our employees is not at all productive, but his manager refuses to terminate him. That's because the employee has a terminal illness. The manager speaks to the employee about his poor performance and not following instructions, but that is far as it goes. At what point should HR intervene and press for termination?—Marilyn

When employees hunch over keyboards all day, all the motivational posters in all the break rooms of the world won’t improve their health. Health care giant Kaiser Permanente—a leader in designing wellness programs for other organizations—wondered what it could do to get its own staff to eat better and exercise more. Thus was born an innovative e-mail campaign that delivered big results.

The key to determining whether someone has a condition that meets the FMLA’s definition of “serious health condition” is the medical certification the employer receives from a health care provider. But the rules on how to get that certification have changed. Here's what you need to know to comply with the law.

According to a survey by accounting firm Grant Thornton, 29% of companies have reduced or intend to otherwise modify their contributions to employees’ 401(k) accounts. Of those employers, two-thirds have eliminated matching contributions altogether.

When Flint Energies President Bob Ray Jr. wanted to move his Georgia electric cooperative closer to becoming eligible for some of the “best companies” lists, he turned the task over to his 200 employees. He identified an “emerging leader” within the ranks to chair and appoint a 10-employee Best Place to Work Committee ...

Under the FMLA, employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of the company’s work site are required to provide FMLA leave to their employees. But even if you're a small employer, innocent mistakes could make the “50/75 rule” meaningless to you — and force you to provide FMLA leave. Learn how to avoid that trap.

Some employees think that taking FMLA leave gives them complete protection from disciplinary action. That just isn’t so. For example, when an employee takes FMLA leave, her work may have to be redistributed. If, during that process, you discover that the employee had been doing a poor job, you can take disciplinary action against her.