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Compensation & Benefits

LGBT employees get help with taxes on benefits

03/21/2012

Ernst & Young on Jan. 1 began reimbursing its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees for the additional federal and state taxes they pay on same-sex domestic partners’ medical benefits. The New York-based accounting giant is the first Big Four firm to offer the tax offset.

Long- and short-term incentives growing fast in private firms

03/20/2012
Most private companies in the U.S. now offer long-term incentives (61%) in addition to short-term incentives (95%), according to a new study on pay practices by the nonprofit organization WorldatWork and Vivient Consulting.

Is there a grace period for paying overtime?

03/19/2012
Q. We couldn’t obtain the amount of overtime one of our employees worked in time to include payment for those hours in the current payroll period. We understand that untimely payment of wages could expose our company to penalties. May we issue a paycheck to the employee for his regular hours worked and include his overtime payment in the following pay period?

Considering denying insurance benefits? Always seek expert legal advice first

03/19/2012
It used to be that before an em­­ployee or former employee could get into federal court with a ­benefits-denial case, he had to show that he was a “plan participant.” But following a recent 9th Circuit decision, merely claiming to have been a plan participant is enough.

Court shows the door to tax-protesting employee

03/19/2012
A federal appeals court has ruled that an employee-tax protester can’t sue his employer and individual employees for withholding taxes. The court also rejected the employee’s Title VII claim that he was unlawfully terminated for complaining about the withholding.

Uncle Sam lets HR off 2 health benefits hooks

03/16/2012
Insurance plan administrators no longer have to worry about offering optional long-term care coverage under the Community Living Assistance Ser­­­­vices and Supports Act, which was rolled into the health care reform law. And they have a temporary reprieve on providing employees and beneficiaries with a simple explanation of their benefits and a uniform glossary covering basic health insurance and medical terms.

Online options for child-support withholding

03/15/2012
To speed the processing of child support with­holding orders, the federal Office of Child Sup­port Enforcement is encouraging employers to sign up for its electronic Income Withholding Order, or e-IWO. Cur­­rently, 23 states use e-IWOs.

Federal agencies offer potpourri of new benefits rules

03/15/2012
Here are digests of recent benefits rulings that will affect your Payroll operations: 1. Payroll off the hook for CLASS Act withholding. 2. Compliance with summary of benefits and coverage rules postponed. 3. HRA reporting under the Medicare-as-secondary-payer rule.

What are the criteria for unpaid internships?

03/14/2012
Q. We would like to hire a few college interns over the summer, but with our tight budget, I don’t think we can pay them. What rules apply to unpaid internships?

What if we can’t set up direct deposit fast enough to deliver final paycheck in time?

03/14/2012
Q. A recently terminated employee demanded immediate payment of his wages and asked us to directly deposit the check into his bank account. I know that Minnesota law requires us to pay the wages through the employee’s last day of employment within 24 hours of his demand. While this employee was normally paid through direct deposit, we cannot coordinate a direct deposit within 24 hours. Can we just send the employee a check by mail?