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Compensation & Benefits

Williamhouse settles pay-Bias lawsuit with three employees

12/01/2006

Envelope-maker Williamhouse of Pennsylvania settled a lawsuit with three supervisors who claimed they were underpaid because they are black …

Docking employee’s pay for missing laptop

12/01/2006

Q. An employee who recently quit hasn’t returned a company-owned laptop computer worth over $1,000. Can we withhold the value of the computer from the employee’s last paycheck?

How to talk to young employees about retirement planning

12/01/2006

Your 20-something employees are more worried about repaying student loans and moving into their first homes than saving for retirement. So convincing them to contribute to a 401(k) is often a tough sell. The solution: Make your pitch relevant to their lifestyles …

Beware linking RIF with retirement incentives

12/01/2006

It’s not uncommon during economic downturns for organizations to conduct a RIF and—if the expected savings don’t materialize—to follow up with a retirement-incentive plan. But be aware of one pitfall …

The new pension reform law: What it means to you

12/01/2006

In August, President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which includes many benefits-related amendments to the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) …

‘Parent Shift’ Program Allows Nurses to Work Two-Hour Shifts

12/01/2006

To help working parents manage their lives, the Cleveland Clinic allows nurses to work shifts of as little as two hours a day. Chief nursing officer Claire Young created the "Parent Shift" program because rigid shift schedules were preventing working mothers from returning to work after having children …

Brokerage house overtime case serves as cautionary tale

12/01/2006

One disgruntled worker’s lawsuit has turned into a class-action headache for brokerage firm Barclay’s Capital …

Prepare to pay overtime to more delivery drivers

12/01/2006
You no longer can rely on the "motor carrier exemption" in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to avoid paying overtime to delivery drivers who use vans and pickup trucks on their routes.

Navigating the National Labor Relations Act

12/01/2006

Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935 largely as a way of raising depression-era wages. The law gives employees basic rights to participate in unions, bargain collectively about compensation/ work conditions and engage in other protected "concerted activities" …

Pay travel expenses for new, longer commute?

12/01/2006

Q. One of our employees normally reports to a facility. But he’s out on workers’ comp and is doing light duty in the office, which is an extra hour of commuting time. I know we don’t have to pay for his commuting time, but what about his travel expenses? —M.T., Massachusetts