05/01/2013
A company that contracted to provide gate attendants for oil fields has won its battle with the DOL over whether the workers are employees or independent contractors. The decision represents a big loss for the DOL, which sought repayment of more than $6 million in back wages—and has engaged in a nationwide campaign to force more employers to recognize independent contractors as employees.
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05/01/2013
Do you have employees classified as inside sales employees? If so, you may be courting trouble unless you are absolutely sure they qualify for the exemption. That’s especially true if you also don’t track any extra hours they work.
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04/30/2013
With North Carolina owing over $2.5 billion to the federal government, Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill reforming the state’s unemployment insurance system shortly after he took office in January. The law applies to new unemployment claims filed on or after July 1, 2013.
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04/30/2013
If a worker who was hurt at work can find a doctor to testify that subsequent debilitating headaches were caused by the work injury, you can expect to continue making disability payments for a long time.
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04/30/2013
Garner-based KBE Landscaping will pay $14,651 in back pay to 33 employees after a Department of Labor investigation revealed the company failed to properly pay overtime to its hourly workers.
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04/29/2013
There’s only so much an organization can do to help employees with their work/life balance. Some of it has to be up to them. Five simple steps:
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04/26/2013
Q. We sent a few employees to training over a weekend. They weren’t required to attend, but the course will help them do their jobs better. We paid the hourly workers for that time, but not overtime. Do we owe them overtime if they worked 40 hours before the training session?
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04/25/2013
Q. We have an employee who was out on workers’ comp and has recently returned to work part time. (She is still collecting partial workers’ comp benefits.) Can we adjust her vacation and personal leave time to reflect the limited hours she’s working, or is she entitled to the full amount of days?
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04/25/2013
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. Workers at the company’s Gary, Ind., plant claim they should be compensated for the time it takes them to change clothes for work at the work site.
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04/25/2013
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division doesn’t want to see any funny business when it comes to accurately recording hours worked or paying employees on time. Don’t even think about manipulating payroll systems. Doing so will result in double damages going back three years.
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04/25/2013
Cyrilla Landscaping in Coraopolis, outside Pittsburgh, has agreed to pay $39,091 in back wages to 29 workers following a DOL investigation—plus another $39,091 because the feds found the violations were willful.
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04/25/2013
With data showing how employee income and health-benefit plan participation are closely intertwined, a new study is sounding alarm bells for employers that must begin complying with the affordability mandates of the Affordable Care Act next year.
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04/25/2013
The automatic federal budget cuts that took effect on March 1, known as the sequester, reduce the refundable portion of 501(c) tax-exempt organizations’ health care tax credit by 8.7%, according to the IRS.
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04/24/2013
Do your employees have to wait in line to punch their time clock? Heads up: Long lines of workers punching in and out has cost a California employer more than $1 million.
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04/24/2013
NOTE: Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as observed in the District of Columbia are taken into account to determine due dates. Under the federal deposit rules, you’re allowed a deposit shortfall of the greater of $100 or 2% of your tax liability. Semiweekly and monthly deposits are for the deposits of FICA and withheld income taxes due on wages paid during the time periods indicated.
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