Compensation & Benefits

Final regs clarify excepted benefits for ACA purposes

12/04/2014

So-called excepted benefits—limited-scope dental and vision benefits—are exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s requirements to provide affordable group coverage that provides minimum value. Final ACA regulations modify those benefits, and add long-term care benefits and certain employee assistance plans into the excepted benefits category.

New rule on white-collar overtime pay pushed back to February

12/02/2014

Look for the Department of Labor to release a new proposed rule for paying overtime to white-collar workers in February 2015, a roll-back of the department’s original, self-imposed November deadline.

Know which ‘personal’ injuries qualify for workers’ comp

12/01/2014

Be on the lookout for employees who try to pass off personal injuries as being job-related. Challenge workers’ comp claims in such cases.

December 2014: Employer’s business tax calendar

11/28/2014

This is your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

Benefits: Should we put details in the employee handbook or the Summary Plan Description?

11/27/2014

Q. Should a small business employee handbook include a safe-harbor clause under the benefits section for their 401k plan? In the past, the benefits information in the handbook has been limited because it can change so often. Instead, the handbook just points the employee to the summary plan documents.

The ‘Ghosts of W-2s Past’ need haunt you no longer

11/27/2014

It’s officially Payroll crunch time. The Social Security Administration is cracking down on employers that submit W-2/W-3 forms with errors … but you already have everything organized and ready to go, right?

If employees are absent the day before or after a holiday, can we withhold their pay?

11/26/2014

Q. Our employee handbook states that if employees are sick before and after a holiday and they do not get a doctor’s note, they will not get paid for those missed days. Is this legal?

Another chore? Early W-2s and verification of FICA taxes paid

11/26/2014

Q: A terminating employee is requesting an early W-2. He’s also requesting that Payroll provide him with written verification that he hit the 2014 Social Security taxable wage base, even though his W-2 clearly shows this in Box 3. He insists that he doesn’t need to restart paying Social Security taxes with his new employer, since he maxed out for 2014. Is he correct?

DOL takes action on two minimum wage issues

11/24/2014

The Department of Labor (DOL) is closing out the year with a bang. It’s issued final regulations increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for employees who work on new or renewed federal contracts and has postponed enforcement action on its final regulations governing home care workers.

Slip sliding away: How to handle weather-related absences

11/22/2014

Absences occasioned by bad weather can clash with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Here are the five key rules you need to know to make this winter (or any season) run smoothly.