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Compensation & Benefits

Proposed rule would combat retirement plan conflicts of interest

04/28/2015
The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule designed to protect 401(k) and IRA investors by cracking down on conflicts of interest in the retirement plan marketplace. The proposed rule would update and close loopholes in the nearly 40-year-old Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which governs employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Study: ACA has little effect on employer health benefits

04/27/2015
Large U.S. employers are keeping health care costs down despite concerns over Affordable Care Act mandates, according to a new report by the ADP Research Institute.

Are employees’ mileage reimbursements taxable?

04/25/2015
Q: Employees who aren’t on call, but who are called back to work to handle an emergency, are reimbursed for all of their traveling expenses. Must we include these reimbursements in their income and tax them?

Courts create a wide berth for wage payment lawsuits

04/23/2015
Federal and state courts don’t have to go out on too long a limb to allow employees to sue for their unpaid wages and to find corporate officers personally liable under state wage payment laws for failing to pay those wages. Two recent cases illustrate.

Feds crack down on 401(k) hardship withdrawals

04/23/2015
Both the IRS and U.S. Department of Labor are increasing their enforcement scrutiny on companies that allow em­­ploy­­ees to take inappropriate hardship withdrawals from their 401(k) plans.

Failure to pay overtime costs SoCal firm $344,000

04/21/2015
C&H Collins-Hartwell Programs, a Southern California provider of medical day care, must pay 32 employees $344,000 in back pay and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found it only paid straight time to workers who worked more than 40 hours in a week.

Lawsuit says Handy cleans up at its contractors’ expense

04/21/2015
A lawsuit filed in California alleges that Handy, the sharing economy’s version of a cleaning service, is playing dirty with its workers. Like its brethren—Uber, Taskrabbits and others—the company uses independent contractors instead of employees.

California seafood restaurant on the hook for $185,000

04/21/2015
Employees of the Seafood Peddler restaurant in San Rafael have netted $185,000 after a jury determined the restaurant and its owner retaliated against them for cooperating with a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation into the eatery’s pay practices.

Which employees are eligible for health benefits?

04/21/2015
Most employers follow the lead established by the Affordable Care Act, and offer health insurance benefits to employees who work at least 30 hours per week.

Retirement crisis worsens, no rebound from recession

04/20/2015
The U.S. retirement savings crisis continues to worsen, and the typical working household still has virtually no retirement savings, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security.