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Compensation & Benefits

New Minnesota law aims to close gender gap in the workplace

09/17/2014
With great fanfare, Minnesota’s new Women’s Economic Secu­­rity Act was signed into law on Mother’s Day in May 2014. WESA is aimed at closing the gender gap by breaking down barriers to economic progress for women. It creates a number of new legal requirements and amends various existing laws.

Brooklyn Park, Minn. mulls statute requiring paid parental leave

09/17/2014
Brooklyn Park may become the first city in Minnesota to offer paid parental leave to its employees.

Tire company puts equal pay dispute in rear-view mirror

09/17/2014
A female HR director delivered St. Cloud-based Royal Tire a kick when she sued the company for an Equal Pay Act violation.

Title company sued over alleged prevailing wage violations

09/17/2014
The U.S. Labor Department has filed suit against White Bear Lake-based Northwest Title, alleging the company failed to pay prevailing wages when it handled real estate closings for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The company held the HUD contract from April 2010 to April 2012.

Time records matter! Make sure time clock system lets workers enter OT hours

09/17/2014

Do you have a time clock system that employees use to record the hours they work? Make sure it allows hourly employees to record the overtime they work. Otherwise, they may later argue that they worked overtime hours and your time-keeping system was designed to discourage them from tracking those extra hours and getting paid overtime.

Business facing financial difficulties? Don’t let supervisors alter hours worked

09/17/2014
Faced with declining revenues and staff shortages that mean more overtime hours, managers may be tempted to adjust time records to reflect fewer hours worked. But this is a dangerous tactic.

Stillwater, Okla. restaurant adds ‘minimum wage fee’ to checks

09/17/2014
Things are not peaceful at the Oasis Café in Stillwater. When the state’s higher minimum wage took effect on Aug. 1, the restaurant began charging a 35-cent “minimum wage fee” on each order. Restaurant management claims the charge is to highlight the burden the wage hike places on small businesses.

To prove executive exemption, show employee’s ‘direct involvement’ in hiring

09/17/2014

Employees are eligible for overtime pay unless their positions fit into one of several exemption categories, including the executive exemption. But take note: Don’t try to apply the executive exemption label unless the employee is directly involved in hiring and firing or his or her recommendations are seriously considered during the decision-making process.

How to fix E-Verify oversight?

09/17/2014
Q: An employer didn’t create cases in E-Verify for several years. The employer is again using its E-Verify account and creating cases. Should the employer create cases for employees who were hired while it wasn’t using E-Verify?

What’s a ‘payment’ for child-support withholding?

09/16/2014
Q: Employees exercise options and buy company stock. Is the value of the stock subject to child-support withholding? Is it as a lump-sum payment, or covered under the standard income withholding order?