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Compensation & Benefits

Here come the new state employment laws for 2025

12/06/2024
States are emerging as prime sources of new employment-related laws. Here is a sampling of new laws scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, or soon after.

A hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay

12/05/2024
It sounds Dickensian—some employees with disabilities working under so-called Section 14(c) certificates earn $1 or less an hour. The Department of Labor wants to end this practice. New proposed regulations would, if finalized, phase out these certificates, so employees with disabilities would need to be paid at least the minimum wage.

DOL research shows nationwide paid family and medical leave could reduce poverty

12/02/2024
According to the Urban Institute, the adoption of national paid family and medical leave providing workers up to 12 weeks to care for themselves or a loved one could mean 97% of workers are eligible for benefits.

Why you might want to track exempt workers’ time

12/02/2024
Because you must pay exempt employees their full salary in any week when they perform any work, there’s generally no need to track every hour and minute they work. But what happens if you classified the worker incorrectly and she wasn’t an exempt employee after all?

January 2025: Employer’s business tax calendar

11/30/2024
Here’s your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

Court blocks overtime rules: Now what?

11/26/2024
What should employers do now that the overtime rule has been overturned? The good news is they won’t need to raise salaries on Jan. 1. But what about reversing the changes made in good faith back in July? Here are your options.

Survey: 58% retired earlier than planned

11/25/2024
There has been a spike in early retirements due to reasons beyond employees’ control, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s just-released 2024 Spending in Retirement study. Health problems, disabilities and changes in employment because of downsizing, business closures and reorganizations have led many to retire earlier than they planned to.

Under GOP, could comp time replace overtime pay?

11/20/2024
A proposal calls for Congress to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act, which proposes amending the Fair Labor Standards Act. It would authorize private employers to provide one-and-a-half hours of comp time for each overtime hour worked.

Review mental-health benefits to ensure they serve your employees’ needs

11/20/2024
Employee demand for mental-health services has increased and employers are responding. That goes beyond making sure health insurance plans comply with federal law by covering mental-health conditions to the same degree they cover physical conditions.

The catch with 401(k) catch-up contributions

11/20/2024
Employees aged 50 and over have had the option of making additional 401(k) pretax contributions, called catch-up contributions, for more than 20 years. SECURE 2.0 increases the catch-up contribution amount to the greater of $10,000 or 50% more than the regular catch-up amount in 2025 for individuals who have attained ages 60, 61, 62 and 63 before the end of 2025. This is not as straightforward as it appears.