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Compensation & Benefits

Personal care industry: Know the unique UC rules

05/17/2017
Under Minnesota’s unemployment compensation laws, when service for a particular patient ends, attendants are only eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if they tell the staffing service they are willing and able to work with another patient. Otherwise, the end of the original assignment doesn’t count as a discharge.

Employee misconduct bars unemployment benefits

05/17/2017
Employees who are terminated for misconduct aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation benefits. Just about any breach of an employer’s rules amounts to misconduct.

Tough economy no excuse for pay bias

05/17/2017
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an economic downturn cannot be used as an excuse to justify continuing unequal pay under the Equal Pay Act.

The O’Reilly Factor: Claw backs and the ‘faithless servant’

05/16/2017
In the world of controversial show host Bill O’Reilly, personal responsibility has given way to excuses and coddling, prompting the question: Where is good, old-fashioned comeuppance when it is needed? In O’Reilly’s case, we now have an answer to that question.

Keep accurate pay records–or prepare for court to take employee’s word for it

05/16/2017
If you fail to keep tabs and the worker sues, it’s generally his word against yours as to how many hours per day and per week the employee worked. That can result in a big back-pay bill, especially if the court doubles the damages as permitted under both federal and state law.

Employer-provided health costs rising worldwide

05/16/2017
The 2017 Willis Towers Watson Global Medical Trends Survey found that medical insurers globally are projecting the cost of health care benefits to rise 7.8% this year, an increase from 7.3% in 2016.

Snapshot: Employers most concerned about health care reform

05/16/2017
Employers expect efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act will have the most significant impact on their operations.

How should we track and manage work-at-home time for nonexempt employees?

05/10/2017
Q. We try to be a flexible workplace and sometimes get requests from employees to work from home for a day or two during school breaks and so on. I don’t have a problem with this for exempt employees, but what about hourly ones? How do we track that time?

Family sells 70-year-old meat company to employees

05/10/2017
Third-generation owners Mark Godshall, Floyd Kratz and Ron Godshall said they were motivated to make the transfer as a way to preserve the company’s independence.

Benefits mistake creates unemployment comp eligibility

05/10/2017
A worker who claimed her new employer reneged on promised benefits has won her bid to receive unemployment compensation.