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Payroll

How long can we wind up handling wage assignments?

04/01/2008
Q. We have received a wage assignment for one of our employees. How long do we have to keep sending money in? …

What if an employee has more than one wage assignment going on simultaneously?

04/01/2008
Q. We have an employee for whom we have received two wage assignments. Which creditor do we pay? Both proportionally, or just the first one? Or do we alternate? …

Can we refuse to cooperate with a lender on a wage assignment?

04/01/2008
Q. Handling wage assignments seems like a lot of trouble. What if we skip the whole thing? Can we get in trouble? …

Are we allowed to punish employees whose wages are assigned?

04/01/2008
Q. I’m suspicious of employees who can’t handle their own financial affairs. Frankly, I’d rather not have irresponsible people working here. Can I fire an employee whose wages are assigned? …

Never manipulate time sheets to falsely show hours worked

04/01/2008
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the California Labor Code both require employers to keep meticulous records to prove employees are properly compensated. Paper records such as time sheets and pay stubs must accurately show what hours employees actually worked and the pay they earned. Violate those rules at your peril! …

Simple pay mistakes can cost big bucks

04/01/2008
What’s being underpaid $44.63 worth? It netted one lucky California employee more than $10,000 …

N.J. Senate action ushers in paid family leave

04/01/2008
New Jersey is poised to become the third state in the nation to guarantee employees paid leave to care for a newborn or a sick relative. The new family leave bill passed the State Senate on March 3, and at this writing is expected to be approved by the Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine …

Deducting stolen funds from paychecks

04/01/2008
Q. My company terminated an employee suspected of stealing from her cash drawer. May we subtract the missing amount from her final paycheck? …

Payroll records: Timekeeping for exempt, nonexempt workers

04/01/2008
Federal wage-and-hour laws require you to have a reliable system to accurately keep track of employees’ hours and pay. Casual timekeeping systems can easily trigger a back-wage lawsuit. Here’s the bottom line on how to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s complicated requirements.

Starbucks Steamed Over $100M Verdict

03/25/2008
A California Superior Court decision ordering coffee giant Starbucks to pay its baristas $100 million in lost tips has the company in a froth. Trouble has been brewing since it instituted a policy letting supervisors split tip income with hourly workers. You don’t want to find yourself in the same hot water.