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Compensation & Benefits

401(k) auto-enrollment is coming. Are you prepared?

08/08/2024
Under SECURE 2.0, new 401(k) plans established after Dec. 29, 2022, must auto-enroll participants once they’re eligible, beginning with the 2025 plan year—Jan. 1 for calendar-year plans.

Wage growth tapered off in the last year

08/05/2024
Pressure to pay employees more seems to be easing. Compensation costs for private-sector employers increased 4.1% between June 2023 and June 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Metrics: More than numbers and crucial to track

07/31/2024
You need metrics, as this data provides powerful information and information is power. Metrics can show how managers manage, track terminations and employee morale, support decision-making (e.g., having the data to justify a new hire) and identify trends. All of this makes the payroll department a key corporate player.

September 2024: Employer’s business tax calendar

07/31/2024
Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

Prepare to pay for time spent waiting to log in, sign off

07/26/2024
A federal appeals court recently reminded a lower court that the FLSA requires paying hourly workers for all time spent working on their employer’s behalf—unless pre- and post-shift activities are so inconsequential that they constitute de minimis time.

Pay disparities: The impact of hiring higher-paid employees

07/17/2024
Pay compression—hiring new employees at higher pay rates than incumbents—is a common issue faced by HR professionals. It is exacerbated when labor markets are tight, as they are today. It is also a known culprit driving gender inequities.

3 educational benefit offerings to consider

07/17/2024
This year marks the first full one in a long time that many of your employees are budgeting for student loan repayments. It’s stressing them out and preventing them from pursuing further education, which hurts you as an employer.

Yucky pink medicine!

07/17/2024
The Fair Labor Standards Act doesn’t cover employees who take time off for school visits, so the regular rules apply—you don’t have to pay nonexempts for time they’re not working. You also don’t have to pay exempts who take full days off as personal time. In both cases, employees may use their accrued time off, if they have any.

In the Payroll Mailbag: August 2024

07/17/2024
Are power outages compensable nonexempt experiences? … What are the docking rules for salaried nonexempts? … What’s the best timekeeping method for new nonexempts?

Paging all humans: The FLSA & the FMLA still need you

07/17/2024
Artificial intelligence has taken firm hold in American workplaces. By far, the focus is on how generative AI will either streamline tasks or supplant employees altogether. The Department of Labor isn’t buying the employees-will-soon-be-replaced talk. Human oversight is still necessary to the proper functioning of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, the DOL concluded.