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New Year, New Pay: Is Your Salary Structure Ready for 2027?
By Cassandra Vaughan As organizations prepare for 2027, the compensation outlook can be summed up in one word: steady—but strategic. After several years of significant wage pressure, salary increase budgets appear to be settling into a new normal. WorldatWork projects U.S. salary increase budgets averaging 3.6% for 2027, WTW projects 3.4%, Payscale projects 3.5%, and…
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Make Your Voice Count: September Is Survey Season
By Meg Coursey EANE surveys provide practical, timely benchmarking data on the workplace issues that matter most to employers. Each year, we conduct or co-sponsor 11 major regional and national surveys, helping members make informed decisions with reliable market insights. Why Participate? By contributing your organization’s perspective, you can: Get Involved September brings a full…
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You May Know the Name, but You Might be Surprised by Who they Actually Make it For!
For more than 200 years, our September EANE Spotlight Member, Ashaway Line & Twine Manufacturing Company has combined family tradition with an impressive ability to innovate. Founded in 1824 by Captain Lester Crandall along the banks of Rhode Island’s Ashawog River, the company began by producing fishing lines for commercial fishermen. Seven generations later, the…
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Do You Have a Grudge Culture? Workplaces Are losing the Ability to Disagree and Move On
By Allison Ebner You’ve probably felt it, even if you haven’t named it: conversations that used to be easy are now a little more careful. A comment at a team meeting lands differently than it would have a few years ago. Someone goes quiet instead of pushing back. A disagreement that should have been resolved…
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On the Right Track: How Blended Learning Builds Development That Lasts
By Gary Dawson Ask any HR leader or business owner what keeps them up at night, and “training that actually works” is usually on the list. Too often, employee development still means a single workshop, a certificate, and hope. But hope is not a strategy, neither is a training calendar built one event at a…
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Federal Guidance on Paid Family and Medical Leave Taxes — What Employers Need to Know in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, and New York
By Mark Adams For years, employers in states with paid family and medical leave programs have faced a surprisingly basic question: how should contributions and benefits be treated for federal tax purposes? The IRS addressed that question on January 15, 2025, when it issued Revenue Ruling 2025-4. Since then, states have been working through what…
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Affirmative Action Update: Two Items for Federal Contractors to Have on Their Radar
By Mark Adams Federal contractors have two affirmative action compliance items to keep in mind this summer. OFCCP has renewed the disability self-identification form used for Section 503 compliance, and the annual VETS-4212 reporting period is now underway. OFCCP Renews Section 503 Self-Identification Form: The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has renewed its…
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Does Your Harassment Training Actually Meet Connecticut’s 2-Hour Requirement?
Key takeaways You bought the harassment training. Your employees clicked through it. The completion certificates are sitting in a folder somewhere. So you’re covered, right? Maybe. Connecticut’s sexual harassment training law is specific about who has to be trained, for how long, and how often, and it’s possible that an e-learning or video course can…