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Compensation & Benefits

How do employers hand out variable pay?

08/31/2015
Almost two-thirds of employers surveyed offer individual performance-based incentives, but it’s not the most common kind of variable pay.

Download this all-states chart on worker classification tests

08/28/2015
This chart lists the states and the test that each uses to determine workers’ status.

What are California’s unique overtime rules?

08/26/2015
Three questions about overtime pay in California.

Must we pay out unused PTO on termination?

08/26/2015
Q. I know that California employers are required to pay out unused vacation time, but what about accrued but unused PTO or floating holidays?

California’s paid sick leave amendment requires 3 days’ leave per year

08/26/2015

An amendment to California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 requires employers to offer employees three days or 24 hours of paid sick leave per year. The original law required employers to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, or to provide an up-front allocation of at least 24 hours. The accrual requirement created a big headache, since most employers do not accrue paid time off on a per-hour basis.

Don’t set weekend deadline for appealing benefits denial

08/26/2015
When an employer (or plan administrator) denies a request to receive an ERISA-covered benefit, it must inform the employee that he must appeal by a certain date, typically 180 days. When the 180th day falls on a weekend, those days aren’t counted.

New same-day settlement rules mean faster funds

08/26/2015
NACHA—the electronic banking organization that makes direct deposit and other electronic transactions possible—has revised its rules to allow for same-day settlement of electronic transactions, including payroll.

Consumer-driven health plan satisfaction rising

08/20/2015
People with health insurance continue to express higher satisfaction with traditional health plans compared with so-called “consumer-driven” plans, but the satisfaction gap appears to be narrowing, according to new research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

More older workers keep working

08/19/2015
The number of older people who continue to work has increased dramatically in 10 years, with workforce participation among those 65 and older increasing by more than 80%. Here’s the percentage change in work participation by age, from 2006 to 2016.

Retirement plan participation depends on overall wages

08/14/2015
Well-paid private-sector employees are more than three times more likely to participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan than their lower-paid colleagues.