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Compensation & Benefits

Is it OK for employees to donate leave pay to deceased employee’s relatives?

05/06/2013
Q: One of our employees died. Our HR manager would like to allow employees to donate their vacation time to the family and she’s asked Payroll for some guidelines. What can we tell her?

Can an “additional amount” on the W-4 be a percentage?

05/03/2013
Question: We recently acquired a new company. Our payroll system kicked out an acquired employee’s W-4 form. He claims single status-99 with an additional 20% on his form. This W-4 seems contrary to wording on the W-4 itself. What do we tell him?

5 low-cost perks from Fortune’s best: Would they work in your organization?

05/03/2013
When Fortune magazine tallied the “100 Best Companies to Work For,” it uncovered these cheap perks.

Know the regs that help avoid ACA free-rider penalties

05/02/2013
The bottom line for you to avoid free-rider penalties under the Affordable Care Act is not to have employees obtain health insurance on the individual exchange and qualify for premium tax credits or other cost sharing reductions.

Can the company ‘profit’ from the share of health premiums charged to employees?

05/01/2013
Q. After several large health insurance claims last year, our president decided to increase the premiums deducted from employees’ paychecks. However, the rate he has directed to be deducted is higher than the rate at which we are billed for the spouse and dependent coverage. Is it legal to make money off of the “premiums” we ask em­­ployees to pay?

Disabled employee always calling in sick?

05/01/2013
Disabled employees may be en­­titled to some time off as an accommodation, but there are limits. If an employee is constantly absent when his disability makes it impossible to work, you may be able to discharge him. That’s because attendance can be an essential function of a job—and constantly missing work may show that the employee can’t perform that essential function.

AFL-CIO opposes banning deductions for PAC funding

05/01/2013
The Texas chapter of the AFL-CIO is opposing a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives that would criminalize payroll deductions for contributions to political action committees.

Take heart! DOL doesn’t win every case

05/01/2013
A company that contracted to provide gate attendants for oil fields has won its battle with the DOL over whether the workers are em­­ployees or independent contractors. The decision represents a big loss for the DOL, which sought repayment of more than $6 million in back wages—and has engaged in a nationwide campaign to force more employers to recognize independent contractors as employees.

Beware misclassifying inside sales staff

05/01/2013
Do you have employees classified as inside sales employees? If so, you may be courting trouble unless you are absolutely sure they qualify for the exemption. That’s especially true if you also don’t track any extra hours they work.

State unemployment reforms to take effect July 1

04/30/2013
With North Carolina owing over $2.5 billion to the federal government, Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill reforming the state’s unemployment insurance system shortly after he took office in January. The law applies to new unemployment claims filed on or after July 1, 2013.