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Compensation & Benefits

Volunteer emergency responders in New York now entitled to leave

02/09/2015
As of Dec. 22, 2014, employers in New York must grant leave to employees who also serve as volunteer emergency responders during times when the governor has declared a state of emergency or if a federal emergency has been declared.

Be sure you can justify reason why promoted worker didn’t get raise

02/09/2015

Most employees who are promoted see that as a vote of confidence and assume their new responsibilities will include more money or other tangible benefits. But what if you don’t want to raise pay?

Supreme Court to hear ACA premium tax credit case

02/09/2015
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear King v. Burwell, which is an appeal from the 4th Circuit regarding whether the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits are available to all eligible individuals, regardless of whether they purchase health insurance through a state or federal exchange.

Supreme Court rules security check time isn’t compensable

02/06/2015
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the time employees spent waiting at the end of the day to undergo security checks, and the time they spent undergoing those checks, wasn’t compensable working time under the Portal-to-Portal Act. The time, the Court said, wasn’t integral and indispensable to the performance of employees’ jobs.

All the benefits of vacation, none of the sun and sand

02/06/2015
A British hypnotherapist is offering sessions designed to help stressed out workers “feel as refreshed and revitalised as they do after a two-week break.”

Is it time to prepare to pay higher wages?

02/05/2015
American businesses are benefiting from lower energy costs and rising sales, a fact not lost on unions and employees. Signs that employees expect a bigger piece of the pie abound everywhere, from your local McDonald’s restaurant (the symbolic focus of efforts to raise the minimum wage) to the airline industry.

Employers scaling back family coverage

02/04/2015
Health coverage for employees’ spouses and dependents is on the chopping block as employers seek to rein in health care costs and avoid the Affordable Care Act “Cadillac tax” on high-value insurance plans set to take effect in 2018.

February’s got the blues, it’s your last chance for W-2s

02/03/2015
You can avoid those last-minute W-2 blues if your W-2 e-files are formatted correctly. This checklist applies to e-filers who are using the Social Security Administration’s EFW2 filing specs.

Can we discipline an ‘early clocker?’

02/02/2015
Q. One of our part-time employees has been warned repeatedly about clocking in earlier than she’s supposed to, sometimes more than an hour early. We know that we have to pay her for any hours worked, but what can we legally do to get her to work only the hours set for her position? Also, can we reprimand a co-worker that has been clocking in for her?

Vacation becomes permanent for payroll admin after disastrous oversight

02/02/2015
Retribution was swift and merciless for Luzerne County, Pa.’s payroll administrator after 1,400 county employees failed to receive paychecks on the final Friday morning of November last year. County Manager Robert Lawton fired the man while he was out on approved vacation.