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Compensation & Benefits

Wage assignment and employers’ responsibilities

03/01/2008

Tough economic times raise some tricky HR issues—for example, when an employee’s financial straits begin to affect his employer …

Brown sues drywall company for $5 million in W&H violations

03/01/2008
California’s attorney general recently filed suit against a Southern California drywall contracting firm for what he called “a sophisticated and heartless scheme” to cheat its employees out of wages. Attorney General Jerry Brown sued Irvine-based Interwall Development Systems, claiming that it failed to pay its employees overtime …

Paycheck stubs’ new look for 2008

03/01/2008
Q. Are there new requirements regarding the type of information that should be included on an employee’s pay statement? …

Getting reimbursed for terminated employees’ personal calls

03/01/2008
Q. A recently discharged employee exceeded his monthly allotment of minutes for personal calls on his company-issued cell phone. Can we recoup the cost of these extra minutes by withholding the amount from his paycheck? …

Can we mandate direct deposit?

03/01/2008
Q. We’d like to get away from paper payroll checks. May an employer require employees to receive wage payments by direct deposit only? …

Strickland seeks to downsize by offering early retirement

03/01/2008

Gov. Ted Strickland has directed state agencies to draft proposals for offering early retirement incentives to trim their staffs and save money. Spokesman Keith Dailey said Strickland is concerned about the possibility of a recession and its potential impact on the state budget …

Sample IRS form helps announce auto-Enrollment

03/01/2008

Recent U.S. Labor Department rules make it easier (and legally safer) to automatically enroll employees in your company’s 401(k) plan. If you plan to make the switch to auto-enrollment, take note: The IRS has issued a sample notice that you can use …

Big Supreme Court ruling gives employees the green light to sue over 401(k) losses

03/01/2008
In a decision that could spark more lawsuits against retirement-plan administrators, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 20 that participants in 401(k) plans can sue to recover losses if they think their account was mismanaged …

Fluctuating workweek

03/01/2008

Q. My work hours fluctuate a lot depending upon the flow of work. To help manage its cash flow, my employer asked me to sign an agreement where I would receive a set salary each workweek regardless of the number of hours I work. In weeks where I work more than 40 hours, I am paid half-time for overtime hours, instead of time and a half. Can my employer do this? My position is nonexempt …

Think beyond scheduling when adding flexibility

03/01/2008

When many business people and HR pros think of offering employees flexibility in balancing work and life issues, they think in terms of providing scheduling options. But in small businesses, that’s often a deal breaker. Instead, think of flexibility as a broad strategy for business success …