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Compensation & Benefits

Don’t want class-action arbitration? Say so

11/18/2011
When claims involve unpaid overtime or misclassification, attorneys representing employees naturally want to handle the case as a class or collective action. Some employers think that if they include an arbitration agreement in their terms and conditions of em­­ploy­­ment, a wage-and-hour claim has to go to arbi­­tra­­tion as an individual claim. That’s not necessarily true.

W-2s: the gift that keeps on giving

11/18/2011

W-2s can give you aggravation, sleepless nights, you name it. Here are the critical due dates, as well as six common W-2 errors and easy tips to avoid them:

Ho-Ho-Ho or Uh Oh?

11/17/2011
You can enjoy the company’s holiday bash even more after you get through these year-end payroll duties:

Which of the following issues requires the most work on your part?

11/15/2011
Handling benefits and mediating workplace disputes top the list of difficult HR duties.

Supreme Court to decide: Is health care reform law constitutional?

11/15/2011
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the sweeping federal health-care reform law enacted in 2010, deciding the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s signature domestic policy achievement. No matter how the High Court rules, its decision could affect HR and employee benefits for years to come.

Health care reporting: What you need to do now

11/15/2011
If dealing with year-end 2011 hasn’t caused enough anxiety, lurking just around the corner is W-2 reporting of employees’ health benefits. If you’ll be filing at least 250 W-2s for 2012 and don’t have a self-insured plan that’s not subject to COBRA, you’re on the hook for health care reporting, beginning next year.

Health premiums rose 9% this year; average family plans top $15,000 for first time

11/14/2011
Health insurance premiums paid by employers this year rose by 9% from 2010, much faster than workers’ wages (2.1%) and general inflation (3.2%), according to a Kaiser Family Foundation annual report.

That’s not fair! Equity requires more than fair pay

11/10/2011

Conventional wisdom says that paying employees well goes a long way toward making them feel like they’re treated fairly. Not necessarily. Employees don’t consider pay or salary increases as the top factor in determining whether they are rewarded fairly, according to a new study.

Feds take over Minneapolis hotel’s retirement plan

11/09/2011
Using its power under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration has taken over the 401(k) plan of the Northland Inn in Minne­apolis after the hotel’s owner ceased operations in 2009.

State agencies slapped with age discrimination suits

11/09/2011
Three state agencies—the Minne­sota departments of Commerce, Pub­lic Safety and Natural Resources—face nearly identical EEOC lawsuits claiming they discriminated against workers based on their age.