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Compensation & Benefits

Extremely small businesses may not be bound by FLSA minimum wage, overtime rules

03/16/2011

Almost everyone assumes that all employees are covered by the federal FLSA. But in some rare circumstances, employees in very small and distinctly local businesses may not be entitled to minimum wage or overtime. If the business does not earn at least $500,000 in gross annual revenue—the minimum for an entire enterprise to be covered by the FLSA—then some employees may not be covered either.

Regularly review FLSA exempt/nonexempt status

03/16/2011
Perhaps nothing strikes more fear in an HR manager’s heart than learning that employees have filed a class-action wage-and-hour lawsuit alleging they were improperly classified as exempt employees. Your best defense is to be proactive about pay issues. Conduct regular reviews to make sure positions throughout your organization are properly classified as hourly or salaried.

Invest in the future: Bring back benefits now

03/16/2011
As the economy strengthens, many productive employees who feel overworked and undercompensated will seek jobs elsewhere. Don’t give your stars an excuse to jump ship. Keep them satisfied by implementing new benefits and reinstating those that you cut during the recession.

Medicare reporting rules delayed until 2012

03/15/2011
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently postponed until next year a requirement that certain partially self-insured employers must report any one-time or lump-sum payments to persons entitled to Medicare benefits.

Must we pay for lactation breaks?

03/14/2011
Q. Are employers required to pay employees for break time taken under the Nursing Mothers Law?

What are the new rules affecting breastfeeding?

03/14/2011
Q. What does the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law (also known as the Nursing Mothers Law) contained in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) require of employers?

Must we pay for lactation breaks?

03/14/2011
Q. We run a manufacturing plant. Our break policy allows employees to take up to two breaks each shift to use the restroom. As long as the employees return to their posts within 10 minutes, the breaks are paid. We have an employee who is nursing and using her breaks to express breast milk. This usually takes about 15 minutes each break. Can we treat these breaks as unpaid?

Is it OK to pay an exempt employee an hourly wage for taking on nonexempt work?

03/14/2011
Q. We recently advertised internally for a current employee to do six to eight hours per week of office cleaning for an hourly wage. An exempt employee responded indicating that he would like the extra pay. Is it OK to pay him the hourly rate for his share of the cleaning work in addition to his salary?

Extra leave under MPLA subject to employer approval

03/14/2011
Although they’re welcome to be more generous, employers are only obligated to provide six weeks of leave under the Minnesota Parental Leave Act

I-35 bridge collapse hero takes retirement settlement

03/14/2011

Minneapolis Fire Department Capt. Shanna Hanson was off-duty when she heard of the I-35 bridge collapse in August 2007. Nevertheless, she grabbed her gear and dove into the Mississippi River in hopes of finding survivors. Television coverage of the disaster made Hanson a local hero. Now, accumulated injuries have taken their toll on the 19-year veteran, so she is taking a $113,000 workers’ compensation buyout and hanging up her fire helmet.