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Compensation & Benefits

Cruising: 2012 maximum car and SUV valuations set

02/20/2012
Employers that use the standard mileage rate to value employees’ personal use of company vehicles are restricted to supplying them with vehicles of modest value. For 2012, the value of company cars that qualify for the standard mileage valuation method is $15,900.

We didn’t withhold! How do we fix it?

02/19/2012
Q. A new employee was mistakenly paid through Accounts Payable for January, so no federal or state taxes were withheld from his pay. It’s still early in the year, so we’d like to take out the taxes that should have been withheld from later wage payments. But we don’t want to leave him with no net pay. According to our calculations, it should take us two months to withhold the additional taxes. Is this OK?

5 tips to take the hassle out of scheduling summer vacations

02/16/2012

Summer is still a long way off, but you can be certain employees are already eyeing the July calendar in hopes of grabbing the prime weeks to block off for their summer vacations. You’ll probably be stuck refereeing who gets which days. Here’s some help from HR pros:

Even after Walmart, some class-actions are legit

02/15/2012
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a class-action sex discrimination claim brought by thousands of female Walmart employees. Now the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified how far the decision goes in class-action wage-and-hour cases.

Make sure you can justify salary differences

02/15/2012

These days, employees are getting braver about discussing their pay. Part of the reason is that the National Labor Relations Board has done a good job publicizing its stance that discussing pay is concerted activity protected by law. Be prepared for the inevitable lawsuits with solid reasons for all pay decisions.

‘Part-timer’ working 40 hours: Eligible for benefits?

02/15/2012
Q. We hired a nonexempt part-time employee, but for several months she’s been working about 40 hours a week. Are we required by law to convert her to full-time status and offer benefits if she averages near 40 hours?

21 ‘golden parachutes’ each worth $100 million+

02/14/2012
21 U.S. CEOs received “golden parachutes” worth more than $100 million each between 2000 and 2011, according to a new report by GovernanceMetrics International.

HR salaries: It pays to specialize

02/13/2012
Compensation for employees in HR specialties (benefits, training, etc.) is about 20% higher than for HR general positions, says a report by Culpepper and Associates.

Employee compensation: 12 trends for 2012

02/10/2012
Compensation experts are predicting modest but steady wage growth over the next few years as employers shake off the salary freezes, layoffs and low profits brought on by the recession. Still, a recent Forbes story says 2012 could be The Year of the Employee Back­­lash, as workers look for greener pastures.

Can Native Americans refuse to provide an SSN?

02/09/2012
Q. A new hire is refusing to provide his Social Secur­­ity number because he does not want taxes withheld from his paycheck. He argues that since he is Native American, the U.S. government is not entitled to tax him. Is he required to provide this information? Can we withdraw our employment offer if he continues to refuse?