Employer-Paid

The multiemployer approach may be catching on with companies that it view it as a viable alternative for providing health insurance and other benefits for workers.

Companies would be prohibited from taking income-tax deductions for their top executives pay exceeding $1 million, even if its based on performance.

As the debate rages on whether an increase in the U.S. minimum wage will boost or hinder hiring, one aspect is more unambiguous. It would almost surely lift consumer spending.

Although the economy clearly continues to trend up, executives are still feeling the burn from the last financial meltdown.

A survey for HighRoads finds 50 percent of employers are in some stage of private exchange evaluation. But interest is also high in the self-insured model.

The president has suggested a 1 percent pay raise for the federal government's labor force.