But savvy managers have found ways to keep employees upbeat — and performing — without breaking the bank.

Here are four incentives keeping workers happy:

1. Casual dress code

Take it from the Commander-in-Chief: Casual is the way to go. When President Obama instituted casual dress in the Oval Office, he overturned President Bush’s more formal rules in an effort to foster a relaxed working environment.

A casual dress code makes workers feel more comfortable, which may increase productivity and morale. Plus, it’s a perk that doesn’t cost the company a dime.

2. Flex time

Flexible schedules are another low-to-no cost perk that works. Employees — especially younger workers — appreciate flex time because it helps balance their work and personal lives.

3. Relaxation room

Several companies have set up “relaxation rooms,” complete with tables, chairs or even cots for workers to kick back or catch some shut-eye.

You may scoff, but employees appreciate having an area where they can give their minds a rest or even take a 15-minute nap at the end of their lunch break.

4. Let ‘em use their gadgets

Policies that allow workers to use their iPods or smartphones (e.g., Blackberrys and iPhones) on the job are a hit. Plus, they allow workers to stay in touch with loved ones, without having to leave the office.

What incentives are popular at your company? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Union leaders say they’ll back the idea of giving millions of illegal immigrants a chance to become citizens, but only if Obama appoints an independent commission to decide how many foreign workers to allow into the country: When the economy goes up, so would the number of immigrants; when the economy drops, the immigration numbers would drop.

Under the system, union leaders say, the jobs of American workers would be protected during tough times.

Business groups generally oppose the idea because it doesn’t include a temporary-worker program needed to fill jobs quickly when the economy rises rapidly.

The Senate will hold hearings on the proposal, but two border-state Republicans — John McCain and Jon Kyl, both of AZ — say they’ll oppose the proposal if there’s no temp-worker proposal combined with better border security.

Look for the legislation to be introduced in the fall.

Answer: The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals have held that the ADAAA does not apply retroactively. In general, the federal courts have determined that Congress indicated no intent that ADAAA cases in effect at the signing date would be covered by the new law.

That, of course, is good news for employers and HR managers. The ADA amendments mostly make it easier for employees to win accommodations and put a greater burden on employers to offer accommodations. Specifically, the new law says employers will have to:

• make accommodations and treat as disabled any applicant or employee who qualifies as such, without regard to mitigating measures. Previously, the Supreme Court had ruled that mitigating measures such as medications or prosthetics would take the employee out of the official category of “disabled” and exempt the employer from offering workplace accommodations.
• take into account a broader range of activities, or “functions,” that are considered when classifying a worker as disabled: performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. None of those appeared in the pre-Jan. 1, 2009, ADA regs.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers guidance on the ADA amendment in the form of a new publication, “The Americans with Disabilities Act: Applying Performance and Conduct Standards to Employees with Disabilities.”

The president penned a continuing resolution — H.R. 2638 — that provides $100 million in funding and gives E-Verify life through March 6, 2009. The program had been set to expire on November 29.

What happens after March 6? President-elect Obama has indicated his support for E-Verify as part of a larger effort aimed at immigration reform. A separate bill to reauthorize E-Verify for five years passed the House on July 31 by a convincing 407-2 vote. However, it has been stalled for months in the Senate.

How it works
E-Verify is a voluntary, Internet-based system operated as a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The program allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of new hires. E-Verify electronically compares employee information taken from Form I-9 (the paper-based employment eligibility verification form used for all new hires) against more than 425 million records in SSA’s database and more than 60 million records in the DHS immigration database.

While some states have mandated that certain employers use this system, voluntary adoption has been slow due to concerns for the accuracy of the government checks and the additional administrative burden on employers.