• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

State chart: withholding on supplemental pay

10/08/2012
STATE WITHHOLDING RATES: Here’s a chart summarizing how states handle income tax withholding on supplemental wages. Note: To get the full story on state tax rates, visit your state tax department’s website.

Timekeeping records: Know the rules for exempt & nonexempt staff

10/08/2012
Employers with casual timekeeping systems are much more likely to face lawsuits over unpaid wages than organizations with strict record-keeping rules. Some simple procedural guidance can help keep you out of court. Here’s how the record-keeping requirements for exempt employees differ from those for nonexempt workers.

IRS nixes reimbursement plans as wage recharacterizations

10/07/2012
It would be great if you could wave a magic wand and convert some of employees’ taxable wages into nontaxable business reimbursements. But you can’t. A new revenue ruling reiterates that employees’ expenses must have a business connection before you can reimburse them tax-free.

May we legally restrict when employees can take small amounts of vacation time?

10/05/2012
Q. We have recently needed to cut back on some of our employees’ shifts, meaning that some of our workers are now working fewer than 40 hours per week. In order to bring their hours up to 40, these workers have been filling their time sheets with varying amounts of their earned vacation. Are we permitted to restrict when our employees use their earned vacation?

How should we handle pay while our employee is serving jury duty?

10/05/2012
Q. One of our employees received a jury duty summons. What are our obligations towards the employee in terms of pay and leave?

Arlington firm owes $53K in overtime wages

10/05/2012
Arlington-based Espitia Cleaning Inc. agreed to pay $53,095 in back wages to 130 current and former janitors following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Ledbetter law doesn’t apply to state pay claims

10/05/2012
Under the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, employees who believe their paychecks reflect a discriminatory pay decision made years or even decades ago can still sue. But that principle doesn’t apply if an employee pursues a state pay discrimination claim under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.

Are cash bonuses to employees and survivors taxable? Reportable?

10/04/2012

Question: We are a public employer. Since employees haven’t had pay raises in more than four years, we will soon be making cash distributions to them. Employees’ survivors will get separate distributions. Are these distributions taxable and how do we report payments made to survivors?

Employee loans: Are they reportable or not?

10/04/2012

Question: Our company makes interest-free loans to employees so they can buy home computers. The purpose of the loan program is to allow employees to hone their computer skills. Employees can take up to four years to repay their loans. Must we report the loans on their W-2 forms?

Health premiums up 4% this year; forecast to rise 7% in 2013

10/04/2012
Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance are averaging $15,745 this year (up 4% from 2011), while worker-only coverage is averaging $5,615 (up 3% from last year), according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation report.