Payroll

Loose lips lead to lawsuits: Consult lawyer before releasing personal info

09/22/2010

Privacy laws are confusing. If you are unsure about whether you can release any employee information, check with your attorney. That may help you avoid the kind of drawn-out litigation one employer recently endured.

New laws for a new year: Illinois employers face new credit check, wage payment requirements

09/16/2010

The Illinois General Assembly has been busy, passing legislation that HR professionals need to know about. Specifically: the Employee Credit Privacy Act, which prohibits many Illinois employers from basing hiring, promotion and other employment decisions on the credit histories of employees and job applicants, and the Wage Payment and Collection Act, which protects employees who have not been paid all their wages.

Feds’ Payroll Savings plan going paperless in 2011

09/09/2010

Starting Jan. 1, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will no longer issue paper Savings Bonds through employer-sponsored payroll savings plans. Employees can still save through savings bonds, but the process will have to be done electronically.

What are the laws on correcting timecards?

08/27/2010

Q. We use a timecard punch-in/punch-out system. If an employee forgets to punch in, and we manually do it, do any labor laws apply?

Can I be personally liable for misclassification?

08/24/2010

Q. Let’s say I do the payroll for a company and know that we are misclassifying employees (exempt vs. nonexempt; independent contractors vs. employees). And let’s say I advised the owner, but he chose to leave it as is. Could I be held liable as the payroll administrator?

Have lawyer review California wage statements

08/23/2010

California is a great state—for employees who want to sue their employers. Even the wage statements employees get with their paychecks can lead to lawsuits. Advice: Have your attorney take a look at those pay stubs to make sure they comply with California wage-and-hour laws.

Bounced payroll checks? Make good on them right away

08/06/2010

These are tough times, and sometimes businesses run short on cash. Or a banking mistake may result in fees that cause other checks to bounce. If that happens to payroll checks, make every effort to fix the problem as soon as possible. Not only are employees entitled to their pay, some have resorted to suing their employers for bouncing paychecks.

Privacy concern: Are ‘group’ time sheets legal?

07/19/2010

Q. Currently, we require each individual employee to fill out his or her own time sheet. But we’re considering a new format that lists all employees on one time sheet. Is this legal? Or should each employee’s time sheet be kept confidential?

Must we pay for our employees’ uniforms?

07/15/2010

Q. Our organization requires employees to wear uniforms on the job. Do we have an obligation to pay for the uniforms?

If we fire dishonest employee, can he collect unemployment comp and vacation pay?

06/02/2010

Q. We have an employee who recently submitted an expense report for more than $1,300 for an extended business trip. We accidentally reimbursed him twice. He did not report the double payment and we did not learn of the mistake until an internal audit two months later. Our company policy prohibits dishonesty and we want to fire the worker for violating this rule. Will he be able to collect unemployment benefits? May we withhold the vacation pay that is due to him under our policy, which would just about make us whole?