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Compensation & Benefits

DOL: Did Happy Hands dip into paychecks?

09/21/2012
The DOL has filed a lawsuit against Happy Hands Car Wash in Santa Ana, seeking back wages and liquidated damages. A Wage and Hour Division investigation found the car wash was manipulating its payroll records in order to underpay employees.

You don’t have to force workers to take meal breaks

09/21/2012
You no doubt know that employers have to provide for meal breaks under California law. But how far do you have to go to force employees to actually take the break? It turns out, not very far.

Señor Fish on the hook for underpaying hourly wages

09/21/2012
Los Angeles-area restaurant chain Señor Fish has agreed to a settle a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit with the DOL. An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division revealed the taquería business paid its employees “straight time” for all hours worked …

Regs detail the 50% deduction limit for leased employees

09/21/2012

There’s more to leasing employees than clients ­remitting their pay to the leasing company. While employees can be ­reimbursed 100% for their substantiated meal expenses, business deductions are limited to 50%. Normally, the employer is stuck with this deduction disallowance. But the involvement of the leasing company complicates matters.

Can we insist that doctors’ notes include a diagnosis of an employee’s medical condition?

09/20/2012

Q. May we ask for a diagnosis when an employee ­requests a few days of sick leave? Or must we ­accept any doctor’s note without any explanation?

FMLA damages are payroll taxable, court rules

09/20/2012
For a long time, damages employees received under the FMLA weren’t considered payroll taxable because courts read the FMLA’s unique damages provision—which mandates damages equal to lost pay—as not being the same as taxable back pay. A federal trial court has now turned this reasoning on its head.

Health premiums up 4% in 2012, forecast to rise 7% next year

09/19/2012
Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $15,745 in 2012, up 4% from last year, with workers on average paying $4,316 toward the cost of their coverage, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey.  Premiums for worker-only health coverage increased 3% in 2012 to reach $5,615 annually. Here’s a full analysis:  

IRS cuts slack under final health premium tax credit regs

09/18/2012
While the legality of the Affordable Care Act health care reform law was pending before the Supreme Court, the IRS issued final regulations on the premium tax credit. Since the dust has settled, it’s time to take a closer look at the regs.

Can severance deal address unemployment?

09/17/2012
Q. We want to terminate an underperforming employee and are considering offering a severance agreement in which we agree not to contest unemployment benefits and he agrees to resign and release the company from any claims. Is that OK?

Sick pay after suspension doesn’t count against unemployment

09/17/2012
Employees who are suspended for 30 days or more without pay are considered terminated. If they then receive accumulated sick leave pay, that doesn’t count as wages—and it doesn’t lower their unemployment compensation benefits.