Compensation & Benefits

New Jersey Senate rejects gay-marriage bill

01/21/2010

Gay marriage proponents suffered a major setback when the New Jersey Senate rejected a gay marriage bill in a 20-14 vote. Supporters had hoped to get the bill passed before Gov. Jon Corzine left office on Jan. 19. Newly sworn-in Gov. Christopher Christie opposes it.

Free tickets to employees: Taxable compensation?

01/20/2010

Q. We are in the travel business and our office regularly receives free tickets to sporting events (worth $30 and up). We typically give them to employees who want to use them. Is such a gift ethical?

The DOL is delivering on its vow to hire more investigators

01/20/2010

The threat of more rigorous enforcement—the U.S. Department of Labor now has 250 more wage-and-hour cops—is yet another reason to double-check to see whether your exempt employees are truly exempt.

10 HR trends, 10 HR goals for 2010

01/19/2010

The cost cutting and staff reductions may not be completely over, but as the economy begins its recovery, HR will be dealing with new challenges in 2010. Here are 10 trends to expect in the coming year, plus tips and tools to help you respond to each.

10 ways to welcome vets into your workforce

01/19/2010

More than 400,000 U.S. citizens retire or separate from the military every year—and most of them look for jobs when they do. Companies such as Union Pacific Railroad, GE and Home Depot actively recruit veterans. Your organization could probably benefit from hiring military veterans. To attract them, align your recruiting and employee benefits with their needs.

Checking up on sick workers: The 6 do’s and don’ts

01/18/2010

You probably don’t check up on most employees who call in sick because they do it infrequently and most likely are being truthful. However, every organization has its share of workers who abuse sick-leave policies. No state or federal laws regulate how employers can handle workers who call in sick. But beware: Going too far to ferret out shirkers could invite discrimination and harassment claims, and unnecessarily damage morale.

Must all hours count toward OT ‘total hours’?

01/18/2010

Q. We currently pay employees for time spent driving from the office to work sites. We pay minimum wage for that driving time, but we don’t count those hours toward “total hours” worked for the week. That keeps overtime down because their hours aren’t accumulating until they arrive at the job site. Is this OK?

If worker is out on FMLA leave, can we modify her job?

01/15/2010

Q. Before an employee left for FMLA leave, she performed two functions: administrative assistant and some HR duties. We filled the administrative position while she was on leave. Can we assign her to work only in the HR position when she comes back?

Before stiffing workers, ask: Do I look good in orange?

01/14/2010

Here’s an important lesson for employers: Judges don’t want to hear any excuses from employers that fail to pay back wages when ordered to do so. In fact, they’re perfectly willing to throw you in the slammer if you do. Example: Recently, the owners of a cleaning service were jailed when they didn’t make court-ordered payments of back wages owed to 385 workers.

Shock! 9th Circuit rules for employers in ERISA case