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Compensation & Benefits

Fiscal Cliff Watch: The clock is ticking, and still no withholding tables

12/12/2012
Negotiations to resolve the “fiscal cliff”—a package of tax increases and spending cuts—that will kick in on Jan. 1, 2013, are taking place at an excruciatingly slow pace. Unfortunately, key payroll issues are caught up in the fracas. Until the impasse is resolved, Payroll can’t begin implementing plans for 2013 operations.

Can employees bank OT hours for extra leave?

12/12/2012

Q. Sometimes, our employees work overtime and we note those hours in an overtime bank so they can take time off later. One of our employees claims this is illegal and that we have to pay him. Is that true?

IRS retires old-fashioned letter-forwarding program

12/06/2012
If you’ve ever been unable to locate former employees who were owed 401(k) plan assets or final paychecks, you’ve probably used the IRS’ letter-forwarding program to try to contact them. No longer.

NY High Court peering into Starbucks’ murky tip pool

12/05/2012

The state’s highest court is weighing how New York state law applies to Starbucks’ tip-pooling practices, which funnel some customer tips to management personnel. The case has wound through the legal system as courts try to determine how state law applies to Star­­bucks’ tip pools.

Feds trim $106K in back pay from Midland landscaper

12/03/2012
Seventy current and former landscaping employees will rake in $106,818 following a U.S. Depart­­ment of Labor investigation of their Midland employer’s wage-and-hour practices.

Is there anything that prevents us from reducing our employees’ hours?

12/03/2012

Q. Can we change employees’ work hours on short notice by altering their schedules? Also, we have a part-time employee who’s been employed for a few months working 32 hours a week. She’s preparing to return to work after recovering from a car accident. Can we reduce her work hours?

Higher Medicare taxes in 2013 means payroll headaches now

12/03/2012
Single employees earning more than $200,000 and joint filers earning more than $250,000 will pay an additional 0.9% in Medicare taxes in 2013. To avoid the additional tax, employees may take some extraordinary steps regarding their noncash compensation before the end of this month. That means additional payroll headaches for you.

Is there a formula for grossing up benefits for same-sex partners?

12/02/2012
Q: The company grosses up the fair market value of health benefits provided to employees’ same-sex domestic partners. One employee already had family coverage for his children before he enrolled his partner. How is the gross up calculated, if the cost of coverage doesn’t increase because the plan charges employees a flat amount for family coverage, regardless of the number of individuals covered?

Go ahead and trim the tree–while keeping your party liability-free

12/01/2012

The holiday spirit is spreading! A new survey shows that more than 83% of employers are planning year-end holiday parties this year, up from 68% in 2011. But for us worrywarts in HR, all that good cheer means more fretting about alcohol-fueled liability. Here are 12 tips for making spirits bright without having to call a lawyer — plus a rundown of the 10 worst workplace party fouls.

Motel cleaned up at housekeepers’ expense

11/30/2012
Veer Investments—which ­operates an America’s Best Value Inn & Suites motel in Charlotte—careened wildly off course when it decided to ignore almost all the basic requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.