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Compensation & Benefits

Are unemployment benefits taxable?

03/01/2010

Q. We have several employees that have been laid off and are receiving unemployment benefits. They have asked whether they are required to pay taxes on their unemployment benefits.

New contract: Pay up, insurance costs down for AT&T employees

03/01/2010

The Communication Workers of America union has inked a new collective-bargaining agreement with AT&T, bringing 9% pay increases over three years to some 35,000 phone company employees in the Southeast.

What to do about late time sheets?

03/01/2010

Q. One of our field technicians is consistently late in providing her time sheets. This interferes with promptly billing our customers for work performed. Can we delay paying this employee as an incentive to submit her time sheets on time?

Can we put attendance conditions on whether we will pay for paid holidays?

03/01/2010

Q. Our production manager heard that employers don’t have to pay holiday pay if an employee is absent the workday immediately before or after the paid holiday. Is this true?

Hiring work-release prisoners? Some aren’t covered by FLSA’s pay, overtime rules

03/01/2010

If you’re considering hiring inmates through a work-release program, carefully weigh whether you will have to pay them as regular employees under the FLSA, or whether you may be able to pay them less. According to a recent 5th Circuit decision, prisoners specifically sentenced to hard labor may not be covered by the FLSA. Their employers may pay them less than minimum wage, and they’re not eligible for overtime pay.

Must we pay for unauthorized overtime?

03/01/2010

Q. Without authorization, one of our employees worked extra hours this week, even though we told everyone they needed approval to work overtime. Are we required to pay overtime for the unauthorized hours?

The HR I.Q. Test: February ’10

02/25/2010

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Must we track hours for exempt salespeople?

02/25/2010

Q. We have salespeople who work on a straight commission basis. Do we need to track their hours?

Small employers: New rules on pension deposits

02/24/2010

Employers with pension and welfare benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants must deposit participant contributions within seven days of receiving them. The U.S. Department of Labor issued the new rule in January.

Obama’s last-ditch health care reform proposal would affect HR

02/23/2010

Ahead of this week’s summit between the White House and Congressional Republicans and Democrats, President Obama has released his last-gasp proposal for reforming the nation’s health care system. Several elements of the new plan could affect HR—if the proposal ever becomes law.