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

Compensation & Benefits

No workers’ comp for sloppy-drunk employee

08/22/2013
A worker who drank himself silly at work, fell and hit his head has lost his workers’ compensation claim.

State slapped down on misclassification: Employers don’t have to defend themselves twice

08/22/2013
A California Court of Appeal has held that an employer does not have to endure two trials on whether its workers are employees or independent contractors. The decision was based on the legal principle of collateral estoppel, since the company had already litigated the issue with a state agency.

Limiting on-call activity? Pay for that time

08/22/2013
The California Court of Appeal has held that employees need to be compensated for “on-call” hours if the employer substantially restricts their ability to engage in nonwork activities. However, employers may exclude eight hours of sleep time from 24-hour shifts, if an agreement between the employer and employee calls for it.

Managing termination pay: Beware trouble ahead

08/21/2013
What goes into a final paycheck, and when that check must be given to a terminating employee, is strictly a state issue. Here are the final-pay rules.

Must we grant time off for employee to care for a grandparent?

08/20/2013
Q. Our company has 30 full-time employees. One of our employees who is working on a key project has asked us for time off to take care of her grandfather, who has cancer, on days after he’s gone through chemotherapy. We know other family members are available to provide this care, and we are worried that it will be a hardship to have the employee away from work. Do we have to give the employee the time off?

New Flyer signs new union pact with St. Cloud workers

08/20/2013
Bus manufacturer New Flyer has agreed to a new contract with unionized employees at its St. Cloud plant. The four-year agreement provides annual wage increases of 2.5% in the first two years, 2% in the third and 2.25% in the fourth year. The pact also freezes entry-level wages and increases the amount of time it takes new employees to max out on pay.

Austin settles with UAW local, ending drawn-out negotiation

08/20/2013
The city of Austin has settled a long-running labor dispute with its street, wastewater treatment, and parks and recreation workers represented by the United Auto Workers union. For three years, the two sides clashed over payday schedules, overtime and alleged salary structure inequities.

Rules against off-the-clock work don’t end OT claims

08/20/2013
Most employers have strict rules against working overtime without authorization. They use time clocks or other tracking systems to keep accurate records. But what if supervisors tell employees to work before they clock in or after they clock out?

Beware manipulating head count to dodge ACA employer mandate

08/19/2013
Trimming staff or cutting employee hours solely to dodge the employer mandate could run afoul of ERISA.

401(k) excess deferral project reveals payroll errors

08/19/2013
The results of the IRS’ 401(k) Excess Deferral Project are in, and they reveal a high failure rate for pretax contribution amounts that were reported on employees’ Forms W-2. The finding: 75% of employers needed to correct their W-2s.