Total Rewards

There are many laws regulating employee benefits. There are mandated benefits–unemployment compensation, Social Security and Workers’ Compensation–as well as many other benefits regulated in some manner by laws–for example–the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Employee Retirements Income Security Act (ERISA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

As an HRM professional, from what you have researched about these laws, how might they affect your attempts to build a total rewards program that increases employee motivation and productivity? Discuss in detail and provide examples.

Given the legal environment surrounding employee benefits, discuss the advantages and disadvantages from the employer’s perspective in providing a total rewards program.