Compensation & Benefits

Mother Monster’s personal assistant seeks more OT pay

03/05/2013

Lady Gaga’s former personal assistant wants the flamboyant performer and cultural phenomenon to cough up another $400,000 in back overtime pay. Claiming she was on call 24/7, the assistant’s lawsuit says she should have been paid overtime for 128 hours per week in addition to her $75,000 a year salary.

‘March Madness’ payroll style: W-2c forms bounce into view

03/05/2013

While everyone else is watching college basketball’s “March Madness,” paper W-2 filers will be at their desks sorting through those forms for errors and preparing to file W-2c forms. W-2 e-filers have until April 1 to file their original W-2s with the SSA, but even this extra time won’t be enough to avoid the W-2c hook if errors are discovered after filing.

Benefits alert: Health insurance exchange notice requirement postponed

03/01/2013

The health care reform law required employers to begin notifying employees on March 1 about the availability of state-based exchanges as an option for buying health insurance. But acknowledging the obvious—that the state exchanges are nowhere near ready to go live—the Department of Labor has temporarily rescinded the notice requirement.

Sheetz opens wellness center for Pennsylvania employees

03/01/2013

Convenience store chain Sheetz has cut the ribbon at a new employee health and wellness center next to its distribution center in Claysburg, Pa. Its “Center for Shwellness” partners with Marathon Health to offer free health and wellness coaching for employees and their families.

Tips for controlling the W-2 reissuing process

02/27/2013

It’s a frustrating fact of payroll life: Employees lose their W-2s. Here are tips for controlling the reissued W-2 process.

How long must we retain our payroll records?

02/26/2013

Q: We have some very thick payroll files, so we’re wondering what we need to keep and for how long. We’d also like to confirm that time cards must be kept for seven years.

Health exchange employee notice requirement postponed

02/26/2013

If you didn’t provide employees with notice regarding the health insurance exchanges by March 1, you’re off the hook. The DOL has postponed this notice requirement until late summer or fall, which coincides with the exchanges’ open enrollment period.

IRS issues regs on ACA’s employer play-or-pay provision

02/25/2013

A key portion of the Affordable Care Act health care reform law is the employer play-or-pay provision, also known as the employer mandate. Regulations, which are proposed to become effective for months after Dec. 31, 2013, implement this provision. You may rely on these regs until final regs are issued.

Better late than never: 2013 inflation adjustments issued

02/22/2013

Well, it took the IRS long enough, but it finally released the official inflation-adjusted figures for 2013. Here’s the roundup.

TD Bank equalizes taxes for domestic partners

02/21/2013

Starting this year, TD Bank is offsetting the additional federal and state taxes that its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) employees pay for domestic-partner benefits compared with heterosexual married couples.