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Compensation & Benefits

Timely filing requires a USPS stamp of approval

03/27/2015
Why trudge down to the post office for stamps, lease a pricey postage machine or use a private delivery service like FedEx, when you can get the same postage by downloading software to your computer? There is a difference, according to the Tax Court, which ruled that a petition mailed with downloaded postage wasn’t timely filed.

White-collar OT rule could double salary basis

03/26/2015
When Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Administrator David Weil keynoted a gathering of top HR pros on March 24, his official comments carefully avoided the much-delayed, anxiously awaited rewrite of the federal rules governing white-collar overtime pay.

What’s the head count that brings ACA into play?

03/26/2015
Q. Please clarify the number of employees it takes to place a company under the obligation of Obama­­care. Our insurance carrier said it had been increased from 50 employees to 100.

Percentage of older workers delaying retirement falls

03/26/2015
The improving economy is bolstering dreams of retirement for many Americans. The number of workers age 60 or older who say they are delaying retirement has reached a post-recession low of 53%.

DOL issues standards for locating missing employees

03/25/2015

The IRS and the Social Security Administration used to have letter forwarding services you could use to find employees who terminated with unclaimed wages or money in their 401(k) or other retirement accounts. Bowing to new technologies, both agencies discontinued their services. The Department of Labor has now specified the reasonable steps you must take to find missing 401(k) plan participants.

Employers planning changes to health benefits

03/25/2015
More than 80% of U.S. employers expect to make changes to their health benefit programs over the next three years, despite cost increases remaining at historically low levels, according to new research from the Towers Watson HR consulting firm.

Managerial OT revision ‘coming,’ Perez tells House committee

03/24/2015
Almost a year ago, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said the time was long overdue for a rewrite of the rules governing overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s executive, administrative and professional exemptions. Prepare to wait a little longer.

COBRA strikes after benefits were continued

03/24/2015
Most employers know they must send a COBRA notice to terminated workers no longer covered by the company health plan. COBRA letters tell former employees they can continue their health insurance coverage for 18 months if they begin paying the entire premium, plus a small service fee. But what happens if the employee hasn’t been fired, but instead has been placed on an unpaid suspension pending possible discharge?

Obama administration publishes final rule on excepted benefits

03/23/2015
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury have published final rules to amend the definition of excepted benefits to include certain limited wraparound coverage for employees who buy health coverage in the private market, including through Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges.

What goes in a proper wage statement?

03/23/2015
Q. During the last pay period, after my California employees received their paychecks, a few of them asked me where the wage statement was. What information am I required to include in this statement?