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Compensation & Benefits

Don’t Allow Unlimited Sick Leave

01/01/2003

Q. Our company gives eight hours of sick leave per month to nonexempt employees. We’ve been told that, under the FLSA, exempt employees are to be paid whenever they are sick. So our exempt employees have virtually an unlimited sick-leave balance. Is this a correct way to interpret the FLSA? Should we have some type of sick-leave accrual and tracking for our exempts? —D.H., Kentucky

Reimburse any pre-employment costs that cut into minimum wage.

01/01/2003
Migrant workers at a Florida farm were required to pay expenses out of pocket for securing work visas and traveling to job sites. Because these costs amounted to “pre-employment deductions” from …

Noncash compensation counts toward minimum wage

01/01/2003
You probably don’t have employees living in your workplace, but a recent case illustrates your vulnerability to lawsuits if you keep workers tethered to the job, either physically or by phone, …

Employees can refuse to work due to safety fears, even at nonunion site

01/01/2003
Three apartment maintenance workers refused to scrape and paint a water-damaged ceiling after they saw a TV report on airborne-asbestos health risks. When they voiced a concern, their supervisor said there …

Check benefits compliance; new enforcement on the way

12/01/2002
The IRS and U.S. Labor Department are joining forces to make sure employee benefit plans comply with annual filing requirements under ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), specifically Form 5500. …

You can’t shave employee’s bonus just because she took FMLA leave

12/01/2002
When the company Valerie Dierlam worked for was sold, the acquiring firm offered her a bonus of half her salary if she stayed for one year. She did, but the …

Person must be true employee to collect workers’ comp.

12/01/2002
Jerald Meyer was helping repair a wall at his wife’s restaurant when he fell from a ladder and suffered a serious brain injury. Meyer brought a claim under workers’ comp, claiming …

COBRA: Foolproof administration is key to compliance

12/01/2002
THE LAW. The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 requires companies with group health plans to continue offering health insurance benefits to employees and their dependents for a …

Your benefits liability may not end with company sale

12/01/2002
While Denise Lessard was on disability leave, the company she worked for was sold. All employees were automatically employed by the acquiring firm as long as they were “actively employed” on …

HR pay: Has it hit bottom?

12/01/2002
Didn’t get much of a raise in 2002? You’re not alone. The struggling economy held HR pay in check as companies kept a tight rein on salary hikes. Pay nudged …