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Compensation & Benefits

Settling wage-and-hour case? You’ll pay worker’s lawyer, too

04/11/2013
Before you settle an FLSA claim for what you might consider “peanuts,” remember that any settlement will probably include court-authorized legal fees that you will have to pay to the employee’s lawyers. That’s because any success in collecting unpaid overtime or minimum wages also means the employee who wins that money is entitled to have his legal fees paid.

When considering pay cuts, weigh the risk of being on the hook for unemployment benefits

04/11/2013
Sometimes, employees quit in a huff over a pay dispute and then try to collect unemployment compensation benefits. They may argue that a pay cut justified their resignation. But unless the reduction is substantial—usually greater than 20% of previous pay—the resignation wouldn’t be justified.

2013 State Direct Deposit/Paycard Laws

04/11/2013
State laws usually require that employees voluntarily participate in direct deposit or paycard programs. States may also allow paycard vendors to charge em­ployees fees, beginning with the second transaction. Here’s a chart that summarizes the states’ direct deposit/paycard rules.

Withholding on bonuses: Who chooses the method

04/11/2013
Q: An employee who’s in line for a quarterly bonus has presented Payroll with a form that requires us to treat the bonus as regular wages and withhold accordingly. It’s our policy to use the 25% flat withholding method on all supplemental pay. We’ve never seen a form like this before. Must we honor it?

Phishers use third-party providers as bait

04/09/2013
Employers that outsource their payrolls to third-party payroll providers have reported receiving phony emails referring to “Password Change Notification” or “First Notice—Digital Certificate Expiration.” It’s a scam.

Get more from high-deductible health plans

04/08/2013

More employers are turning to high-deductible health insurance plans. But don’t automatically assume that they’ll cut your organization’s costs.

Expedia pays employees to take their vacations

04/05/2013
The irony wasn’t lost on execs at on­­line travel giant Expedia when they learned that most of its employees weren’t taking all of their vacation time. So the Bellevue, Wash.-based organization started paying them to go.

Reinstate fun, family focus to recruit and retain

04/04/2013
If your organization is suffering a post-recession exodus of its most valuable employees, here’s an old-school idea to stop the drain: Add job perks that your competitors don’t offer.

Setting limits on voluntary withholding

04/04/2013
Q. A contractor would like us to voluntarily withhold her federal income taxes. Accounts Payable isn’t equipped to do this, so it’s fallen to Payroll. Having her complete a W-4 form seems inappropriate, since she’s not an employee. Can we honor her request?

Using uniforms, cleansers probably means FLSA applies

04/03/2013
Some employers think they can ignore federal wage-and-hour rules because they are small and don’t hit the $500,000 annual sales volume required to be covered by the FLSA. That rarely works because merely engaging in interstate commerce by using uniforms and cleaning supplies may be enough.