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Compensation & Benefits

Don’t sweat minor compensation differences

07/03/2012
Ever since enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, pay equity has been a hot employment law topic. In the intervening years, many employers have proactively gone over their pay scales and made adjustments after discovering apparent pay inequalities that crept in over the years.

LLC owner must sign tax forms

07/02/2012
It seems counterintuitive, but you can use your consent to extend the statute of limitations on payroll tax assessments as leverage with auditors. But only if the proper party signs Form SS-10, Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Employment Taxes. The IRS has concluded in emailed advice that a single-member LLC owner is the correct party to sign.

Airline employees can win $10,000 for good customer care

07/02/2012
US Airways employees who go out of their way to help the airlines’ customers get more than job satisfaction or a pat on the back from a supervisor. They can win up to $10,000 for their extra effort.

Health reform law: Supreme Court upholds ACA — What it means for employers

06/28/2012
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the health care reform law means HR pros who handle health benefits are now under the gun to comply. A long list of milestones for implementing the ACA were established when the law was enacted in March 2010, and they remain in full force.

How should we pay for fluctuating workweek?

06/28/2012
Q. Our employees work irregular schedules. They may work for two weeks and then be off for three. Can we pay them every two weeks based on their average yearly income and, if they work more, pay them at an hourly rate?

What are the perils of inconsistent comp time?

06/28/2012
Q. Our employee manual doesn’t address compen­satory time off, but we have offered certain exempt managers an hour of comp time for every hour of overtime worked. Do we have to pay them for accrued comp time when we terminate them? In the past, we’ve paid comp time to some, but not to ­others. Can we negotiate our own terms with each employee?

Can we ban breastfeeding at work?

06/28/2012
Q. Can we legally prohibit female workers from breastfeeding at work?

How to respond to an order to garnish an employee’s wages

06/27/2012
Record numbers of bankruptcies and foreclosures have been making a big splash in the news for the past four years. However, a quieter phenomenon—one fraught with traps for unwary employers—is a concurrent and growing trend of court-ordered or government-issued wage garnishments.

Make sure time records can withstand scrutiny

06/27/2012

Employers are responsible for keeping track of the hours and minutes their employees work. If they can’t show their records are accurate, an underpaid overtime case can get costly. That’s because—absent reliable employer records—courts will let employees fill in the timekeeping details.

HR law: All eyes on the Supreme Court

06/26/2012
The center of the HR universe is in Washington, D.C., this week, as the U.S. Supreme Court issues a key decision affecting hiring of undocumented workers and announces it will hear an important case concerning supervisor harassment in its next term. Oh yeah, and then there’s that health care reform case, which should be decided Thursday.