• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

Worker damaged truck then quit: Any recourse?

10/22/2014
Q. An employee driving a backhoe backed into a wall and tore the door off. We had to install a new door ($275), but the employee quit that same week. So we deducted $275 from his last check. Now he says he’s talking to a lawyer. Were we right?

FICA wage base increases to $118,500 for 2015

10/22/2014
The 2015 taxable wage base for the Social Security portion of FICA is $118,500, a 1.28% hike over the 2014 wage base. The 6.2% Social Security tax is payable by both employers and employees; in 2015, the maximum tax is $7,347.

5 ways employers should respond to wage garnishments

10/20/2014
While the economy is finally waking up from the Great Recession, millions of Americans are still feeling the hangover in the form of wage garnishments. What if a lender wants a piece of your employee’s paycheck? Here are five tips.

All large employers on the 2015 health care reporting hot seat

10/20/2014
Now is the time to make decisions regarding information reporting, since the first returns are due in 2016.

Take a bite out of corporate travel expenses with per diems

10/17/2014
How can you keep employees out on the road without busting the company’s travel budget? You can get more bang for your travel buck if you use the federal government’s per diem rates.

In pay case, Supreme Court asks: What is work?

10/16/2014
Does standing in line count as work? That was at the core of the Justice’s questions on Oct. 7 as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk (No. 13-433, U.S. Supreme Court, 2014).

DOL: Baby Vision tried to silence workers, thwart probe

10/15/2014
The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a restraining order against BabyVision Inc. in Poughkeepsie after workers reported being threatened and intimidated by the company’s two owners.

Don’t be spooked by year-end Payroll tasks

10/15/2014
Trick or treat—it’s a very simple menu. To avoid a huge year-end trick, and have a sweet year-end, cross off these tasks from your to-do list.

Health benefit reporting on 2014 Forms W-2

10/15/2014
Here’s a downloadable breakdown of health benefits and whether you must report them. The IRS has clarified that even if a benefit isn’t reportable, you may voluntarily do so.

What do we need to consider before offering extra pay for weekend work?

10/14/2014
Q. We have a short-term project coming up that is going to require some of our hourly, nonexempt employees to work some extra weekend hours. We are thinking we might pay them a higher rate to work on the weekends to encourage employees to volunteer and to reward them. Is there anything we should be keeping in mind before we do that?