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Compensation & Benefits

Must we offer severance pay?

04/19/2010
Q. Because of a downturn in our business, we are thinking of eliminating a position. Are we required to offer severance pay to the terminated employee?

Use new EEOC guidance to review severance agreements

04/19/2010
Employers have a new primer from the EEOC on how to craft legally compliant severance agreements. Although Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements was designed to answer employee questions about severance agreements, it offers useful guidance to employers, too.

General Mills honored as women reach top of corporate ladder

04/19/2010

The National Association for Female Executives has named General Mills as one of the top 10 firms for women leaders. General Mills made the list because the company’s top five earners are women.

Lowe’s to offer free employee health screening

04/19/2010
Home improvement giant Lowe’s is offering free health screenings to its employees. Lowe’s operates 13 stores in Minnesota, with more than 1,500 employees.

Can we deduct from pay to replace equipment our employee damaged?

04/19/2010
Q. We have an employee whose company-provided laptop fell and broke while he was working from home. Can we deduct the cost of the computer from the employee’s paycheck?

H&R Block settles with California loan officers

04/19/2010
H&R Block will settle a lawsuit brought by former employees who alleged the tax prep company violated federal and California overtime and meal-period regulations.

Kitchen cabinet firm closes door on wage-and-hour suit

04/19/2010
A federal judge in Northern California has granted preliminary approval to a settlement reached between U.S. Remodelers Inc. and 270 current and former workers who sued the company for wage-and-hour violations.

DLSE issues opinion letter on partial-day absences

04/19/2010
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has issued an opinion letter stating that, although employers may not deduct from exempt employees’ salaries for partial-day absences, they may make deductions from employee leave balances in accordance with the employer’s bona fide leave policies.

Stop the state-federal-state litigation merry-go-round

04/19/2010
Just when you think a lawsuit will be resolved, something happens that starts the whole process over again. That’s why it’s so important to prevent lawsuits in the first place.

Tide turns against employees who sue over stock-based retirement funds that lose money

04/19/2010

Lately, employees have been winning when they sue over profit-sharing or retirement plans based on company stock that rapidly lost investment value. In the wake of the Enron bankruptcy scandal, juries sympathized with workers who paid the price for lousy (or illegal) management. Now, employers are gaining the upper hand again, as courts recognize that companies are often in a no-win situation when it comes to providing stock information.