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HR and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

03/03/2009

Tucked into the massive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 are several provisions affecting HR. But because most require federal agencies to write new implementation rules, predicting how they will play out day-to-day will be like trying to hit a moving target. Bookmark this page to stay up to date on compliance guidance as the government releases it.

Will I get into trouble for withholding final paychecks from soon-to-be-former employees?

02/26/2009

Q. We’re closing our doors and firing all of our employees. As president, I am considering not paying my employees their final paychecks, even though they have earned that pay. Is this a risk?

Personal information on work computers: No expectation of privacy

02/24/2009

A New Jersey appeals court has held for the first time that an employee has no reasonable expectation that personal information stored on work computers is private—even if the employee has created a separate password to protect the information. Employers have the right to search work computers.

New economic stimulus law includes HR-related provisions

02/24/2009

The economic recovery and stimulus bill President Obama signed Feb. 17 features several provisions affecting HR. Most require federal agencies to write new administrative rules, so it’s difficult to predict now exactly how they will work on an everyday basis. Here are some key provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

What can we do? Employee’s other job makes her miss work here

02/24/2009

Q. We have a salaried employee who holds down a second job. Sometimes, she leaves early on Fridays and comes in late on Mondays because the second job overlaps with our office hours. Can we deduct anything from her pay after she has used up her vacation and leave time? Or do we have to pay her even though she leaves early and comes in late?

New economic stimulus law will find HR working closely with accounting

02/20/2009

The politics of the economic recovery and stimulus bill President Obama signed on Feb. 17 have been the talk of Washington for weeks. Now get ready to figure out what it really means for business. Tip for HR pros: Plan on spending lots of time in the accounting department.

Stimulus law adds COBRA subsidy, tax changes

02/19/2009

The $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) signed on Feb. 17 by President Obama includes a handful of key HR-related provisions, including: COBRA subsidies, a Making Work Pay Credit and unemployment compensation.

It’s time for a pay discrimination self-audit

02/19/2009

Is your company vulnerable to employees’ claims that they weren’t paid the right amount due to company policy or discrimination? Now’s a dangerous time to answer “yes” or “I don’t know.” Reason: A perfect storm of trends is prompting more U.S. workers to pursue their pay-related claims in court.

What goes in a company credit card policy?

02/02/2009

Q. I work for a nonprofit agency. We plan to start using an agency credit card. We need a policy that covers who can use the card and when, plus some other things I haven’t thought of yet. What should the policy include?

Employers cut ’09 salary budgets; raises fall below 3%

02/01/2009

Remember those surveys last summer forecasting steady 3.6% salary increases for 2009? Forget about it. U.S. workers, on average, are now projected to receive annual merit increases of between 2.3% and 3.0% …