Employer-Paid

Moving forward, 94 percent of employers are committed to offering and financially supporting some type of health benefit coverage for employees, according to a new survey by Aon Hewitt, a human capital consulting firm in Chicago.

Legislative leaders from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are pushing a novel, unified approach to promote higher minimum wages, hoping to spur a national movement and eliminate a major argument of opponents in the Northeast who say hikes hinder a state's competitiveness.

Attracting and retaining talent, cutting costs, investing in innovation, managing risk and economic uncertainty rank as the top concerns for CEOs of automotive companies, according to PwC's annual automotive survey.

Even if a flat tax rate would impact payments in 2012, 48 percent of business owners say they would not prefer one while 27 percent say they would prefer one and another 25 percent say they are indifferent, according to a recent survey by the Small Business Authority.

A round-up of the weeks employee benefits news, reports and controversy from around the web

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated his concern Thursday that chronic long-term unemployment threatens to reduce the nation's supply of skilled workers.