• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

Obama orders target pay for contractors’ employees

04/10/2014
President Obama has signed two executive orders that the White House says will promote pay equity for American workers.

Michigan firm constantly reconsiders benefits

04/10/2014
Managers at Michigan-based Red Level Networks routinely analyze employee benefits in an effort to retain employees. The philosophy of David King, founder and president of the technology company, is that satisfied employees provide outstanding customer service to the firm’s clients.

ACA: House bill defines full-time work as 40 hours per week

04/09/2014
Legislation passed April 3 by the House of Representatives defines a full-time job as averaging 40 hours per week, up from 30 hours specified in the Affordable Care Act.

ACA: What majority agrees on

04/08/2014
As the Affordable Care Act’s March 31 deadline loomed for individuals to sign up for health insurance, 38% of the public viewed the law favorably and 46% opposed it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

Base pay on job–not title or job description

04/08/2014

To avoid unintentional bias, HR and supervisors must look deeper than job descriptions when setting up pay scales. That’s why it’s best to regularly reevaluate your job descriptions and match them to actual job tasks and duties.

Supreme Court rules that severance pay is FICA-taxable

04/08/2014
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on March 25 reversed the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling that an employer’s severance pay plans were FICA-taxable. As a result, the IRS isn’t on the hook to pay up to $1 billion in FICA refunds to various employers and their employees who were let go over the past several years.

Know the FLSA’s requirements: Small, local employers may well have to comply

04/07/2014

Very small employers that aren’t engaged in interstate commerce sometimes try to argue that they don’t need to follow the FLSA because they are simply too local. But they often run into legal hurdles when employees sue, as this recent case shows.

ACA play-or-pay regs dole out breaks to all employers

04/07/2014
Under final Affordable Care Act regulations issued in February, for the 2015 plan year only, large employers with at least 100 employees during 2014 must either offer 70% of full-time employees and their nonspouse dependents affordable health insurance that provides minimum value or pay a free-rider penalty. Beginning with the 2016 plan year, offers of coverage must be made to 95% of full-time employees and their nonspouse dependents.

Software firm’s staff average 10 years of tenure

04/07/2014

The 108 employees who work for Quakertown, Pa.-based Synergis Technologies have been with the organization for an average of 10 years. President and CEO David Sharp III attributes employee longevity to the organization’s core values

SC Johnson touts ‘respect for life outside work’

04/04/2014
At SC Johnson, work/life benefits are the company’s signal that it respects employees’ lives outside of work.