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Compensation & Benefits

Small business owners: Do you offer health benefits?

04/15/2014
Two-thirds of small business owners polled say they offer health insurance to their employees. However, size matters—the more employees, the more likely they receive health benefits.

Ban unwritten rules forcing off-the-clock work

04/15/2014

Most employers think that if they just tell employees not to work more hours than their regular schedules call for, that’s the end of it. They put together a policy prohibiting off-the-clock work and figure, “Hey, problem solved.” But that may not be the case.

Informal hiring input does not an exec make

04/15/2014

Managers and supervisors are often classified as exempt from overtime under the FLSA’s executive exemption. It requires that the employee have the authority to hire and fire or make hiring and firing recommendations that carry particular weight. Some employers believe they can meet this requirement by asking for recommendations or insight into potential hires. That’s not enough.

Minimum wage occupation you’d rather not know about

04/15/2014
Starting pay for pilots at some small regional airlines is as little as $15,000 a year, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report. That’s $80 less per year than a full-time, minimum-wage fast-food worker makes.

Dow offers its employees free home energy audits

04/14/2014

Employees, retirees and contractors of the Dow Chemical Co.’s Mid­­land, Mich., operation can get free home energy audits. The company has partnered with Dr. Energy Saver Lansing, a home performance and energy service.

Wage-and-hour 101

04/14/2014
Properly paying employees is one of the most basic employer responsibilities, yet wage-and-hour cases continue to flood the legal system. It’s critical to understand the laws that govern when workers must be paid.

NYC business owners settle ESOP fraud case for $10 million

04/14/2014
The former owners of People Care Holdings, which provides in-home health services in and around New York City, have agreed to pay $10 million to settle charges they sold company stock to employees at inflated rates.

Tentative settlement in Elite Model intern case

04/14/2014
Following on the heels of several highly publicized lawsuits filed by unpaid or underpaid interns, Elite Model Management has tentatively agreed to a settlement with a class of interns who claim the agency either didn’t pay them or paid them less than the minimum wage.

When managers do hands-on work, does that destroy their exempt status?

04/14/2014
Salaried retail managers often have to step in and perform nonmanagement tasks. The fact that they do some of the same work as hourly, rank-and-file staff doesn’t mean they aren’t exempt under the FLSA—as long as they are managing at the same time. In effect, multitasking is just another part of a manager’s job.

How do we pay someone who gets sick after using all his paid leave?

04/11/2014
Q: An employee exhausted all of his vacation and sick days, before he got sick again. He worked for only five days of our 15-day semimonthly pay period. Should he be paid for the entire pay period, or should he be docked for the days he didn’t work during that pay period?