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Compensation & Benefits

2013 standard mileage rate increases 1¢, to 56.5¢ per mile

12/19/2012
The standard mileage rate, which you may use to reimburse employees who drive their own cars on business, increases one penny to 56.5 cents a mile for 2013. You can also use the standard mileage rate to value employees’ personal use of moderately priced company cars.

Do we have to pay for unapproved overtime?

12/18/2012

Q. We have a policy requiring employees to get written permission before they are allowed to work any overtime. However, I have one employee who comes in early and stays late without approval. Must I pay him overtime?

Must after-hours meetings be paid?

12/18/2012

Q. I own a small restaurant. Do I need to pay employees for staff meetings held in the evenings, which are not during my employees’ regular hours of work?

Can we offer exempts extra vacation bonuses?

12/18/2012

Q. Can we give an exempt employee a bonus of extra vacation days in addition to the standard accrued time off outlined in our employee handbook?

5 Pa. firms ace awards for gay-friendly practices

12/18/2012
Each year, the Human Rights Campaign rates Fortune 500 companies on how well they treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Five Pennsylvania firms couldn’t have scored any better, earning perfect 100s from the gay-rights advocacy organization.

Pittsburgh café to serve up back pay to employees

12/18/2012
The Point Brugge Café, in Pitts­­burgh’s East End, must pay $37,719 to 39 workers that the U.S. Depart­­ment of Labor says were stiffed by an illegal tip-pooling system.

DOL: Horsham steakhouse gauchos got gouged

12/18/2012
The parent company of na’Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse in Horsham will pay $110,369 to 42 workers following a DOL investigation that concluded the restaurant misclassified servers in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Feel free to adjust pay to suit local standards

12/18/2012
Don’t let pay concerns get in the way of a transfer. Feel free to adjust compensation to account for different market rates in different locations. It’s perfectly fine to adjust salaries to suit local standards.

Health plans audited for health care reform compliance

12/18/2012
The health care reform law doesn’t fully kick in for another year. But that hasn’t stopped DOL auditors from scrutinizing group health plans for provisions already in effect, such as the grand­fathering rules and children staying on parents’ plan until they turn age 26.

IRS announces disaster relief for Hurricane Sandy victims

12/17/2012
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the IRS has issued a package of payroll, 401(k) and individual tax relief measures. This relief applies to individuals and businesses located in the disaster area, and to those whose tax records are located in the disaster area.