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Compensation & Benefits

401(k) rollovers lose billions due to conflicts of interest

03/18/2015
American workers who rollover 401(k) retirement savings into individual retirement accounts lose at least $8 billion per year because of conflicts of interest created by financial advisors’ reliance on commissions, according to a new Department of Labor report.

OSHA: Workers’ comp covers small share of workplace injury costs

03/18/2015
Workers’ compensation payments cover just 21% of lost wages and medical costs of work-related injuries and illnesses, according to a new OSHA report.

You can take it with you, but read this first, please

03/16/2015
Departing employees may take the pretax contributions they made into their 401(k) or 403(b) accounts with them when they leave, but you must first provide them with a notice of their rollover options. The IRS has updated the model safe-harbor notices you can use for this purpose.

The price for misclassifying workers? $83,051,159

03/12/2015
The Department of Labor is working diligently to determine whether you properly classify your workers as employees or independent contractors. And that’s not all the DOL is doing.

Pay for required desk time–even if no work is happening

03/12/2015
Gary worked as a clerk at a motel in which he lived. He was required to sit at the front desk for an eight-hour shift, but the motel only paid him for the “busy” time when guests checked in or out. Gary sued, alleging wage-and-hour violations.

May our employees pool their tips?

03/11/2015
Q. The waitstaff in our restaurant pools tips with the dishwashers and hosts. Is this OK?

Do we have to pay overtime for hours an employee spent out on sick leave?

03/11/2015
Q. Last week, an employee was out sick on Monday but worked 40 hours Tuesday through Friday. She would like to use her sick leave for Monday and claim overtime for those Monday hours. Must I pay her overtime for those hours?

Consider extended leave as accommodation if disabled employee is likely to return to work

03/11/2015
Before rejecting a disabled employee’s request for additional time off as a reasonable accommodation, consider whether the time would allow the employee to return. If not, you probably won’t have to provide the additional leave.

Never threaten deductions from exempts’ pay

03/11/2015
A supervisor’s single threat leading to a salary deduction could cost your company millions.

Unauthorized OT? Pay up … and then discipline

03/11/2015
Employers must pay hourly employees for all overtime worked, whether it was authorized or not. So what’s the best way to discourage employees from working unauthorized OT?