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Compensation & Benefits

When new employee quits, can we deduct vacation time she took but never earned?

02/18/2015
Q. We permit our employees to take two weeks of advanced vacation before accruing vacation hours. When an employee takes advanced vacation, we typically reduce the employee’s negative vacation balance as the employee later accrues vacation. Unfor­­tu­­nately, we recently had an employee quit before accruing sufficient vacation time to correct her outstanding balance. May we deduct the negative balance from her final paycheck?

St. Paul mayor touts paid leave before State of the Union

02/18/2015
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman talked up the city’s paid leave program at the White House just ahead of Presi­­dent Obama’s State of the Union. Effective Jan. 1, city employees may now take paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. Birth parents receive four weeks of paid leave.

Good intentions don’t matter: You’ll pay if you compensate men and women differently

02/18/2015
Employers that don’t pay men and women the same for substantially identical work violate the Equal Pay Act (EPA). The employer’s intent doesn’t matter. What matters is that the pay is unequal. The EPA is a strict liability statute, as one of the world’s most gender-equitable nations learned when it was sued in Minnesota.

Don’t do it! Agencies clarify stances on ACA coverage dodges

02/18/2015
There is such a thing as being too clever by half, when it comes to enforcing the group health mandates of the Affordable Care Act. The IRS and its sister agencies have been putting out fires caused by promoters who claim compliance with the law through a hyper-technical reading of its provisions. Here’s the latest.

Perks at digital marketing firm encourage employee creativity

02/18/2015

Employees of Boston-based C-4 Analytics joke that they “already get to play on Facebook all day” as part of their work as digital marketers, says managing partner Michael Weiss. Yet execs have woven time into employee schedules to get them away from their workstations to “recharge their creativity and focus.”

Safeway adds benefits for LGBT employees

02/17/2015
Safeway is making its support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and shoppers visible with some perks for workers and the communities where its grocery stores are located.

Final IRS regs clarify ACA’s individual mandate

02/16/2015
The IRS has issued final regulations that cover how group plans’ design affects affordability.

Don’t overpay for first shift of daylight saving time

02/13/2015
Daylight saving time begins at 2:00 a.m., March 8, 2015. Graveyard-shift workers, therefore, will actually work only seven hours that day.

Can we delay paycheck until personnel file is done?

02/13/2015
Q. We allow employees to begin working without handing in the documentation we require, such as reference letters. (We always have legal documentation, such as I-9s and W-4s) Are we legally allowed to hold an employee’s paycheck until their personnel file is complete?

Women trail men in retirement savings growth

02/13/2015
Women invest 6% to 12% more than men in defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s, according to the Vanguard investment firm’s “2014 How America Saves” report.