Employee Compensation and Benefits Organizations Key Terms

Understand more about employee compensation and benefits by learning key terms

By Meredith Fagioli

If you are a human resources professional, more than likely part of your job is to handle employee compensation and benefits. Even though you might be part of an organization that allows you to further your knowledge by providing classes and round tables that focus on compensation and benefits, that education might be hampered if you don't have an understanding of some key terms that are used when talking about compensation and benefits.

Compensation

Compensation is the way in which the employee or worker is rewarded for his or her contribution to an organization. The most common acceptable types of compensation are salaries, wages and/or tips.
Try: The Free Management Library gives more detail on employee compensation in the United States.

Human services

Human services refers to any department or group that is tasked with helping people get services, maintaining records, assisting in life skills or dealing with group activities.
Try: The Human Services Career Network has an article detailing what to expect in the field of human services.

Workers compensation

Workers compensation refers to insurance that the employer pays for to provide cash and medical care for those people who are injured or made sick on the job.
Try: For more detailed information on workers compensation, including steps to take when filing claims, visit NYS Governor's Office of Employee Relations.

Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA as it is more commonly known, is a benefit that applies when a employee or the employee's spouse either gives birth to a child, adopts a child, places a child in adoptive care or needs time off to care for a sick family member or themselves.
Try: For in-depth guidance on FMLA, visit U.S. Department of Labor and find out the latest updates to the act.

COBRA

The acronym COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. There is a federal law that mandates that all employers offer workers medical insurance that continues after the worker leaves the company. The worker is eligible to participate in the medical plan for up to 18 months as long as he or she pays the premiums.
Try: There is a brief summary of the COBRA law at Cobrahealth.com.

HIPAA

HIPPA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal law that focuses on health care for employees. It limits what pre-existing conditions can cause a person to be excluded from health care. It also lets employees enroll in health care when certain life events occur, such as divorce or childbirth. HIPAA also protects against health-status discrimination.
Try: The U.S Department of Health & Human Services has a large section of its website devoted to HIPAA.