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Compensation & Benefits

How flexible is starting pay in your organization?

12/20/2011
Most employers offer at least some flexibility to tweak starting pay.

IRS: Cellphone/smartphone rules apply to tablets, too

12/20/2011
According to the IRS, the same rules that apply to employees’ tax-free use of cellphones and smartphones also apply to tablets, such as iPads.

What are the new FMLA rules affecting federal employees?

12/19/2011
Q. We’ve heard that federal employees’ FMLA rights have recently expanded.  Can you tell us about this?

The dozen leave laws California employers must know

12/16/2011

Dealing with the multitude of federal and state laws governing leaves of absence in California can leave employers feeling lost and dis­­oriented—and expose even the most well-intentioned employer to liability. The best prevention is education.

2012 tax rates: It always pays to plan ahead

12/16/2011
Employees can take a lot of the guesswork out of their 2012 income tax liability by ensuring that their W-4s are accurate. Those who need to file new forms due to changes in their personal finances now have the inflation-adjusted figures on which to base those decisions.

How to cut your 2012 unemployment compensation taxes

12/15/2011

States, which need to repay the federal loans they took out last year to pay regular unemployment benefits, are slapping tax surcharges on experience-rated em­­ployers. But if you’re willing to budget just a little bit more to pay so-called voluntary contributions, you may actually come out ahead.

No minimum wage for court-ordered sex-offender work

12/14/2011
A federal court has ruled that work done by civilly committed sex offenders as part of their treatment program is exempt from the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Potential for class-action pay lawsuit could be lurking in your food delivery fees

12/14/2011
There may be a class-action lawsuit lurking in your delivery charges if you automatically tack on extra fees for delivering pizza or other food directly to homes or businesses and that money doesn’t go straight to the delivery drivers.

Minnesota agencies settle retirees’ age-bias lawsuit

12/14/2011
The Minnesota departments of Natural Resources, Commerce and Public Safety have settled EEOC age discrimination charges that resulted from early retirement packages offered to senior state employees.

Will the reduced FICA tax rate stay or go?

12/14/2011
When the congressional “Supercommittee” failed to reach a ­deficit-reduction deal in November, it also punted on renewing the so-called payroll tax holiday. If Congress doesn’t act before Jan. 1, the pre-2011 rate will go back into effect, costing the average American worker about $900 in take-home pay in 2012.