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Payroll

Decrease in Overtime Hours Not Necessarily an ‘Adverse Action’

01/01/2006

Employees need to prove they suffered some sort of "adverse job action" (firing, demotion, worse job conditions, etc.) to file a discrimination lawsuit. But variations in work schedules don’t necessarily amount to an adverse action. That’s true even if an employee’s altered schedule results in fewer overtime hours …

You need luck to uncover fraud, but a bit of skill helps, too

01/01/2006

While most workplace financial fraud is discovered by chance, it still pays to institute controls that can identify such scams. A new PricewaterhouseCoopers study of 3,600 employers found that 45 percent of respondents had detected incidents of fraud …

Should You Give FMLA Form to ‘Ineligible’ Employee?

01/01/2006

Q. An employee who’s been employed since May is out on workers’ comp and will be for a while. Do I send her FMLA paperwork even though she hasn’t met the criteria of being employed for at least a year? It’s my understanding that I should send it to everyone that requests leave, and only after they return the paperwork should I determine if the person is, in fact, eligible. —L.P., California

Don’t complicate the paycheck pickup process

01/01/2006

Q. Once a year, we have employees show a picture ID and provide a signature that allows them to authorize someone else to pick up their paycheck for them. If an employee doesn’t provide ID and a signature, we will mail the check or hold it until he or she personally picks it up. Is this legal? —J.I., Washington, D.C.

Set clear rules on employee credit card use

12/01/2005

Q. I work for a nonprofit agency, and we plan to start using an agency credit card. But we also need a policy that covers who can use the card and when, plus some other things I haven’t thought of yet. What should the policy include? —M.M., Pennsylvania

Supreme Court: Pay employees for certain ‘walking time’

12/01/2005
Issue: Must you pay employees for time spent changing into protective gear and walking to (and from) their workstations?
Benefit/risk: The Supreme Court finally answered this long-running question, but the …

New Roth 401(k) option kicks in Jan. 1

12/01/2005
Starting Jan. 1, employers can offer Roth 401(k)s, which are a hybrid of the basic 401(k) plan and the wildly popular Roth IRA accounts. With Roth 401(k)s, employees invest taxed dollars …

Supreme Court nominee has pro-business pedigree

11/01/2005
If her legal career is any indication, Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers could be a strong advocate for business if she’s confirmed.
While Miers has never served as a judge, …

Calculate OT correctly for employees who work two jobs

11/01/2005
Issue: How do you calculate overtime pay for employees who perform two separate jobs at separate hourly rates?
Benefit: New Labor Department rulings clarify this confusing part of wage-and-hour law. …

You can track hours for exempt and nonexempt staff

10/01/2005

Q. We have mechanics who work on a straight commission basis. Do we need to track their hours? —E.D., Nevada