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

Compensation & Benefits

The summer doldrums don’t have to get you down

08/02/2012
August is a slog. Forget the heat and humidity by organizing your Payroll tasks for the next four months.

What’s the timing on E-Verify case files?

08/01/2012

Question: If employees don’t have List A, B or C documents and must use replacement receipts to verify their identify and work eligibility, when can the employer create a case file in E-Verify?

What are the options for verifying employees’ names/SSNs?

08/01/2012

Question: We verify employees’ names and Social Security numbers through the telephone number employer verification service (TNEV) and the paper option. Are these methods still available?

IRS provides sample Sec. 83(b) election form

08/01/2012

Payroll usually doesn’t withhold income and FICA taxes from employees who receive restricted stock until the restriction lapses and the stock vests. Under Section 83(b), however, employees can opt to have taxes withheld currently, long before the restriction lapses. The IRS has now provided sample language for an 83(b) election.

Texas agencies face federal sex discrimination lawsuits

07/31/2012
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas General Land Office for alleged pay discrimination at the now-defunct Texas Department of Rural Affairs.

How can we stop the clock on off-the-clock work?

07/30/2012

How can an employer reduce its exposure to claims for off-the-clock work if employees use their own electronic devices for business purposes?

Family members work side by side at Illinois firm

07/30/2012

At Chicago-based PortionPac, plenty of siblings work side by side, and parents often have their adult children as colleagues. Management at the cleaning-fluids manufacturer makes sure those family members have plenty of time to spend with the ones who don’t work there.

What makes a full-time employee?

07/27/2012
Q. How many hours must employees work to be considered full time? Part time?

Employees switch shifts: Does that potentially increase our overtime liability?

07/27/2012

Q. Are employers required to pay for overtime hours that result when an employee voluntarily switches shifts with a co-worker?

Could your time records withstand scrutiny?

07/27/2012

If you can’t show your time records are accurate, lawsuits claiming unpaid over­­time can get costly. That’s because—absent reliable employer records—courts will let employees fill in the timekeeping details. Make sure your records are easily ex­­plained and tamper-proof.