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Compensation & Benefits

Turn your recognition program on its head with peer-to-peer initiatives

11/07/2012

Is your recognition program a top-down affair, with execs deciding how to sprinkle around the praise and prizes? Actually, studies show peer-to-peer recognition can boost employee morale and productivity more than traditional reward programs. Some examples:

With Obama re-elected, kick ACA compliance into high gear

11/06/2012
If you were waiting until after last week’s presidential election to begin implementing health benefit changes mandated by the Affordable Care Act, it’s time to kick your planning into high gear. With President Obama’s re-election, the ACA is sure to be fully implemented come 2014. Already, critical compliance deadlines are looming.

IRS asks court to rehear U.S. v. Quality Stores

11/06/2012
The IRS has asked the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear U.S. v. Quality Stores, Inc., a case that addresses the question of whether severance pay is FICA taxable.

Is your wellness program breaking the law? Give it a legal checkup

11/06/2012
If your organization doesn’t have a wellness program in place yet, you may feel as if you’re behind the curve. Yet it’s unfortunate that many employers (and the consultants who encourage them) aren’t doing a good job of managing the legal risk and cost associated with wellness programs that ignore the law.

Holiday pay, work and hiring: The key rules you must follow

11/02/2012
The Fair Labor Standards Act and the IRS can throw kinks into your holiday plans. Watch out for these lumps of coal: four rules on holiday pay, two rules for holiday work, requirements for holiday hiring.

How should we report excess group-term life insurance for bankrupt company?

11/01/2012

Question: One of our affiliated companies filed for bankruptcy protection. As a result, the company’s assets were frozen and everyone was let go. Unfortunately, Payroll didn’t impute the excess group-term life insurance into employees’ income. Must we still report the excess group-term life as income on employees’ W-2s?

The deadline for 401(k) plan fee disclosures is this month

11/01/2012
New rules require 401(k) plan service providers to disclose fees to plan administrators, who must, in turn, relay this information to employees. The disclosures are due to employees by Nov. 14.

Feeling haunted: Don’t be scared by year-end Payroll

10/31/2012
Who needs Halloween when year-end seems to come up like a witch riding on a broomstick—all at once. Take a few minutes to stir things up now and your Payroll cauldron won’t bubble over in December.

Safe harbor protects employers from free-rider penalties

10/30/2012

Under the health care reform law, employers of 50 or more full-time em­ployees during the preceding year will pay free-rider penalties if they don’t offer full-time em­­ployees (i.e., those who work at least 30 hours a week) affordable health benefits. How you determine full-time status is the subject of new IRS guidance.

Cleveland financial firm pushes employees to live healthier

10/29/2012

Execs at Cleveland-based KeyBank figure there’s something to be said for keeping the same medical administrator on staff for more than a decade. In fact, they call it part of their “commitment to wellness.” The organization’s aim: to drive down medical costs by helping employees im­­prove their health and become more involved in their own well-being.