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Compensation & Benefits

FLSA overtime rules don’t apply to truly small and local businesses

09/05/2014
Some very small employers are truly so tiny that they’re not covered by Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rules.

Payroll: Go directly to year-end, do not pass go, do not collect $200

09/05/2014
Things return to a more normal pace after Labor Day. But normal for Payroll is still hectic. If you take a few minutes now to complete the items on this checklist, you’ll have an easy start to year-end 2014.

‘Trilogy of Care’ helps keep health care employees engaged

09/03/2014

Employees of DaVita HealthCare Partners have a tough job, says Director Danny Shapiro: treating ­kidney patients with dialysis. So execs at the practice “believe nurturing each other better equips us to nurture our patients,” Shapiro says.

How should we handle wage overpayment?

09/02/2014
Q. We recently overpaid an employee by $3,500 but the discrepancy was not discovered until six months later. Can we automatically and legitimately withhold those wages from his paycheck? Also, would it be inappropriate to dock additional wages for the employee not making us aware of the mistake?

If a new employee leaves in short order, is there a way to recoup training costs?

09/02/2014
Q. Can we require employees to repay the company (through payroll deduction) for training costs if they quit or are fired within one year?

OT scheme legal under federal law, not under Pennsylvania’s

09/02/2014
A federal judge has ruled that Radio Shack owes overtime to its salaried employees even though the overtime calculation method the company uses is legal under federal law. Radio Shack uses the fluctuating workweek method to figure overtime when worker hours vary week to week.

What must I do about employee’s wage garnishment to collect on credit card debt?

09/02/2014
Q. One of my employees recently notified me that a judgment had been levied against him on a suit to collect an unpaid credit card debt. A Texas court has issued the judgment, and I understand the judgment creditor may seek to satisfy it by garnishing my employee’s wages. What am I required to do?

Texas employers may now pay employees in Bitcoins

09/02/2014
Should Texas employers be so in­­clined, they may pay employees in Bit­­coins as long as both parties agree to the arrangement.

Never retaliate for wage complaint–unless you’re prepared to pay big bucks!

09/02/2014

If you “shoot the messenger” and punish an employee who points out your wage-and-hour mistakes, a judge just may smack you back with a huge monetary penalty. That’s what appears to have happened in a recent Texas case.

NLRB cracks down on rules banning talk about pay

09/02/2014
A court has ruled that an employer committed an unfair labor practice when its confidentiality clause prohibited employees from discussing their wages.