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Compensation & Benefits

Some work at home doesn’t make commute paid

06/03/2011
Some hourly employees have begun to argue that if they begin the day with a few work emails, they should be paid for the time they spend commuting to work. Fortunately, a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals panel has nixed that argument. Had the case gone the other way, employers could have faced huge bills for paid commuting time.

Backup withholding required even after W-9s are tossed

06/03/2011

You must backup withhold on payments made to independent contractors if they don’t certify their Taxpayer Identification Numbers to you prior to payment. Contractors may make those certifications by providing you with Form W-9, which you must keep for three years. Caution: You may want to retain these forms for longer than three years. Here’s why:

Timely mailing rule applies to package damaged in transit

06/03/2011
If you mail a tax-related document on the date it’s due, you’ll be considered to have timely filed it, according to the tax code’s timely-mailing-is-timely-filing rule. The same is true if the document isn’t delivered because the post office mangled it during processing.

Another Bride, Another Groom: An SSN Problem About to Loom?

06/02/2011
June is wedding month, which means name changes for brides who take their husbands’ names and couples who hyphenate their names. Reminder: Newlyweds must get replacement Social Security cards showing their new names.

Houston company faces class-action COBRA lawsuit

06/01/2011
A former employee of Brunel Energy Inc. is suing the company for failing to notify her of her right to maintain her health insurance coverage after she quit in 2010—and she has proposed making the case a class-action lawsuit that could involve hundreds of other former employees.

Cable installers will split $270,000 in back overtime pay

06/01/2011
Integral Devel­opment Solutions LLC, a Plano cable TV installation company, must pay $270,696 in back over­time to 114 workers it incorrectly classified as independent contractors instead of employees.

Interstate truck loaders aren’t entitled to overtime

06/01/2011
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Justices rule ordinance can create contract

06/01/2011
The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that, under some circumstances, an ordinance that governs the work of public employees and specifies benefits may be enforceable as a contract.

Bill would require unemployed to volunteer five hours a week

06/01/2011

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Warren Daniel would require North Caro­­linians who have been on unemployment for more than eight weeks to volunteer five hours a week in order to continue receiving benefits. The volunteer commitment would rise to 10 hours per week for those on the unemployment rolls for more than a year.

Understand your state law on pay cards, direct deposit

06/01/2011
More employers are offering to let ­workers collect their pay on reloadable, prepaid bank cards. But make sure you know your state law: Most states prohibit employers from mandating that workers receive pay electronically.