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Payroll

New N.Y. ‘wage theft’ law imposes stiff penalties on employers

01/07/2011
The Wage Theft Prevention Act, a law designed to end what workers’ rights advocates term “wage theft,” takes effect April 12, but the time to plan is now. The new law has teeth. It expands the New York Department of Labor’s enforcement powers, and as much as quadruples penalties on employers that violate the law.

New tax law delivers savings–and benefits changes–that affect HR

12/21/2010
The contentious tax law signed by President Obama last week brings tax savings to workers nationwide—and contains several provisions that will affect HR. Here’s a round-up of various elements—from Social Security withholding to tuition reimbursement to on-site child care—that you’ll have to deal with when the law takes effect on Jan. 1.

Here’s the right way to recoup training costs

12/21/2010
It’s expensive to train employees, especially if the content is highly specialized. Smart employers protect their investments by getting employees to agree to repay training costs if they leave soon after receiving the valuable benefit. Just don’t mess with the employee’s final paycheck.

Can we deduct wages to cover unpaid-for employee purchases following termination?

11/24/2010
Q. Our company allows employees to purchase products on an installment basis. When employees leave and haven’t repaid the full amount, can we deduct the remainder due from their last paycheck?

Can we withhold pay if employees are late in completing and submitting time cards?

11/19/2010
Q. We have two employees who regularly fail to turn in their time cards on a timely basis. Can we hold off on paying them until they submit their time cards? Can we delay payment until the next pay period?

Confusing paystubs? Brace for a class-action

11/03/2010

How understandable are your employee paystubs? Do you get repeated questions about the same line items? As the following case shows, inconsistent payment methods and ambiguous deduction rules may spark employees to band together and sue.

4 steps for implementing a variable pay program

10/26/2010
Making variable pay work requires lots of interaction throughout the organization before, during and after implementation. As the business unit most likely in charge of implementation, it’s up to HR to make sure that happens. Here’s how to do it.

IRS issues one-year delay for reporting health costs on W-2s

10/19/2010
The health care reform law signed in March includes a provision that requires your organization to report the value of the health insurance provided to an employee on the employee’s Form W-2. But the IRS said last month that it will delay the requirement for at least one year. We’ve got links to the IRS documents that explain the postponement.

Business and tax provisions in the Small Business Jobs & Credit Act of 2010

10/13/2010

With the economy still struggling and lawmakers looking to take some sort of pro-business action before the November elections, Congress passed the Small Business Jobs Act in September, a $42 billion measure to provide tax breaks and loan assistance to small businesses. President Obama signed the bill on Sept. 27, 2010. Here are the highlights of this legislation that affect businesses:

Confusing paystubs? Brace for a class-action lawsuit

09/24/2010
Employees may not always understand their paystubs, especially when they work for different pay rates some of the time or when deductions are taken without clear explanations. The confusion may even prompt employees to band together and sue.