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Compensation & Benefits

Build a bonus plan for an economy on the mend

06/14/2011

After two years of painful payroll reductions, some employers are considering pay raises. In many organizations, pay hikes will come in the form of variable compensation plans. Experts say these two tactics can help HR pros create variable pay plans that strike a balance between risk, reward and fiscal stability.

8 tips for handling summer military-leave payroll issues

06/14/2011
Summer is usually when employees who belong to the National Guard and military Reserves give their two weeks of duty to Uncle Sam. Now is the time to prepare for their absence, by following these eight tips.

6-week course spurs activity, improves health

06/14/2011
National Council on Aging em­ployees with chronic health conditions can learn more about their diseases by enrolling in a free six-week, online program designed to increase their activity and improve their health. The nonprofit is offering “Better Choices, Better Health” as a benefit to all its full-time staff and their families.

A perfect summer day? Doing payroll maintenance

06/10/2011
Round out your summer schedule by making time to perform these general payroll maintenance chores and early year-end tasks:

What are the details on new FLSA regulations?

06/10/2011
Q. I’ve heard there are new Fair Labor Standards Act regulations coming. When do the final regulations updating the FLSA become effective?

State Attorney General seeks workers’ comp records for prison

06/10/2011
Attorney General Lisa Madison has ordered Central Management Services (CMS), the state agency that processes workers’ compensation payments, to turn over records relating to 230 claims from correctional officers at Menard State Prison. The claims cover repetitive stress injuries allegedly linked to the locking mechanisms on the cells at the prison.

With DOL cracking down, get employee classification right

06/10/2011
In the past year, the U.S. Department of Labor has renewed its focus on combating employee misclassification, and there has been a recent significant increase in the number of wage-and-hour lawsuits. In many of these cases, workers are challenging their designation as exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Feds issue new tip-credit pooling rules

06/10/2011
Employers are now free to set the percentage of employee tips that can be placed in a tip pool. In years past, several court decisions conflicted with the U.S. Department of Labor’s position restricting the amount of tips an employer could require to be pooled.

Don’t court lawsuit by allowing early clock-ins

06/10/2011
Beware if you allow employees to clock in early, but tell them not to start work before their scheduled start times. If early clock-ins are routinely unpaid, there may be a class-action lawsuit brewing.

5 ways to ease employees’ pain from high gas prices

06/10/2011
With gas prices bouncing around near the $4-per-gallon mark, some employers are looking again at ways to help employees keep their tanks filled—or at least get to work each day. Here are some options for you and your employees: