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Compensation & Benefits

SSN verification service responses now gender-free

02/07/2012
This isn’t good news for employees named Chris, Pat or Robin. The Social Security Administration has announced that it has removed the verification of gender from its Social Security Number Verification Services (SSNVS).

Focus now on insurance renewal for 2013

02/06/2012
For most employers, open enrollment for health insurance benefits in 2012 has come and gone. So now’s the time for comp and benefits professionals to start planning for the next health insurance renewal go-round. An early start will give you a fighting chance to keep costs under control in 2013.

Quit over offensive graffiti? He can get unemployment

02/03/2012
Here’s another reason to act fast when an employee complains about offensive graffiti in the workplace: He can quit and collect unemployment compensation benefits.

Pay cut for poor work? Document carefully

02/03/2012
If an employee isn’t working as hard as you expect, reducing his pay might conceivably provide enough of a kick in the pants that he’ll pick up the pace. As long as you carefully document why you are making the pay cut, he won’t win a discrimination case even if his pay puts him at a lower level than others outside his protected class who perform the same job.

Forget a late or early spring–February is W-2 time

02/02/2012
Darn that groundhog! If it knew what payroll administrators know about looming W-2 deadlines, it would never come out of its den. Paper W-2s are due to the Social Security Administration by the end of the month; e-filed forms are due by April 2.

Are cellphone allowances taxable?

02/01/2012
Q. We reimburse employees for the business use of their personal cellphones. To cut down on paperwork, management has suggested that instead of having employees submit their cellphone bills, we give them a flat allowance. This sounds like we’re giving them extra pay. Would those allowances be taxable?

Heads up! Employment law in the news means employee chatter

01/31/2012
There’s plenty of employment law news making its way into the mainstream media. That means the workplace will be buzzing with em­­ployee chatter about working conditions, pay and unions. Prepare now for how to react.

‘Black Swan’ interns sue, say they should have been paid

01/31/2012
Fox-Searchlight Pictures faces a class-action lawsuit in New York from un­paid interns who worked on the production of the hit film “Black Swan.” The interns claim Fox-Searchlight failed to pay them for their work in violation of the FLSA and re­­cent DOL guidelines.

President proposes new pay rules for home health workers

01/31/2012
In an attempt to right what he ­­per­­ceives to be a wrong-headed Supreme Court decision, Presi­dent Obama is asking the U.S. De­­­part­­ment of Labor to change Fair Labor Stand­­ards Act regulations covering home health care workers.

10 unemployment compensation factors that affect payouts

01/31/2012
How much your organization pays for unemployment insurance is based, in part, on how many former employees have successfully filed claims against you. Under­­standing who is eligible for unemployment benefits and who isn’t can go a long way toward keeping insurance rates low.