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Compensation & Benefits

In the Payroll Mailbag: December ’24

11/20/2024
When are reimbursements taxable if they cross years? … Does a logo on a jacket affect taxability?

Conundrum: FMLA leave during the holidays

11/20/2024
Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 fall on Wednesdays this holiday season. Holidays falling on Wednesdays usually take the pressure off employers to give off either the day before or the day after, just to round out the week and to show some good will. But Wednesday holidays don’t eliminate all of the FMLA leave considerations you must address.

Two-minute payroll reads: December ’24

11/20/2024
Payroll is complicated and your time is limited. Spend two minutes reading these digests and you’ll be up to date on key payroll developments.

Candy cane catastrophe: Waiting on these year-end tasks

11/20/2024
Don’t drown your year-end stress by chewing candy canes. Instead, use this checklist to whisk through these onerous but necessary tasks and you’ll have time to party, too.

‘We didn’t know’ isn’t reasonable cause for not filing 1099s

11/20/2024
The window for claiming reasonable cause for failing to e-file information returns is so small, it’s virtually impossible to fit through. An employer wound up on the outside looking in after its reasonable-cause defense—that it had no idea the employee responsible for filing Forms 1099 buried the penalty notices—fell flat with a federal appeals court.

Some big surprises at the SSA’s semiannual meeting

11/19/2024
2024 W-2 e-filing begins Dec. 9. Before you e-file, review the SSA’s webpage for what’s new for the coming W-2 filing season.

New overtime rule overturned, white-collar salary threshold reverts to $35,568 per year

11/18/2024
A federal judge in Texas on Nov. 15 struck down the Department of Labor rule that granted overtime pay to 1 million white-collar workers in July and would have made another 3 million eligible for overtime pay on Jan. 1.

Voters deliver mixed messages on state wage hikes

11/18/2024
On Nov. 5, voters in Alaska and Missouri approved ballot measures calling for higher minimum wages. Here’s what will happen in those states.

3 more states mandate paid sick leave

11/18/2024
Voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska on Nov. 5 overwhelmingly approved ballot measures requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. Those states will join 15 others and the District of Columbia that already mandate paid sick leave.

Building a unique benefits package for your employees

11/13/2024
When employee benefits advisor Patrick Morrison addressed the 2024 HR Specialist Summit audience, he didn’t start with health-care plans or 401(k) matches. Instead, he posed a deceptively simple question: “What do you consider employee benefits?” It’s a question that challenges HR professionals to expand their definition beyond traditional offerings.