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Compensation & Benefits

Beware cancellation of Assigned Risk Plan workers’ comp

04/08/2008
Employers that can’t get workers’ compensation insurance in the private insurance market can get coverage through the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Assigned Risk Plan (MWCARP). To get the coverage, an employer typically pays a small estimated premium …

Discharged for moonlighting? Former employee may not be eligible for unemployment

04/08/2008
If you discharge an employee who has been moonlighting, and he or she continues to work on the side, the moonlighting income may make the former employee ineligible for unemployment compensation …

No joke: Al Franken agrees to pay workers’ comp fine

04/08/2008
Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine to the state of New York for failing to carry workers’ compensation for almost three years. The fine was levied in August 2006 after a web site supporting incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman reported that Franken had not paid the insurance on his personal corporation …

Charging employees for uniforms

04/08/2008
Q. We would like to require employees to pay for their work uniforms. Can we do this? …

Exempt employees and a reduced workweek

04/08/2008
Q. During our slow season, we would like to require employees to work just four days per week in order save on labor costs. Can we require exempt employees to participate? …

Texas state unemployment tax to be partially suspended

04/07/2008
Gov. Rick Perry announced on March 10 that the state’s unemployment insurance replenishment tax will be suspended for one year. As a result of the suspension, about 370,000 affected businesses should see a tax savings of approximately $90 million …

No light-Duty jobs open when employee returns? You don’t have to retain him

04/07/2008
Sometimes, injured employees use up all the leave their employer or the law allows before they’re ready to return to work. If the employee isn’t disabled as defined by the ADA, you can remove the employee from the payroll. (He may still be eligible for workers’ compensation payments.) …

A good reference for a good worker, even though we fired him?

04/07/2008
Q. We had to fire a good worker because of absenteeism problems. When someone who wants to hire him calls to verify past employment, what can we say about this man? …

Starbucks settles overtime suit

04/07/2008
Starbucks recently settled a lawsuit brought by assistant store managers who had accused the coffee company of denying them overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Judge Keith Ellison of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas approved the settlement …

Wage-and-Hour, on-Call and mileage issues for ‘Exempt’ workers

04/07/2008
Q. I own a home-health agency. Although my licensed vocational nurses are paid by the visit, my registered nursing staff is considered management. They are salaried. Are we lawfully required to pay our RNs “on-call” pay or mileage? Although it’s not documented as such, we have taken these things into consideration when setting their salaries …