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Compensation & Benefits

Courts create a wide berth for wage payment lawsuits

04/23/2015
Federal and state courts don’t have to go out on too long a limb to allow employees to sue for their unpaid wages and to find corporate officers personally liable under state wage payment laws for failing to pay those wages. Two recent cases illustrate.

Feds crack down on 401(k) hardship withdrawals

04/23/2015
Both the IRS and U.S. Department of Labor are increasing their enforcement scrutiny on companies that allow em­­ploy­­ees to take inappropriate hardship withdrawals from their 401(k) plans.

Failure to pay overtime costs SoCal firm $344,000

04/21/2015
C&H Collins-Hartwell Programs, a Southern California provider of medical day care, must pay 32 employees $344,000 in back pay and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found it only paid straight time to workers who worked more than 40 hours in a week.

Lawsuit says Handy cleans up at its contractors’ expense

04/21/2015
A lawsuit filed in California alleges that Handy, the sharing economy’s version of a cleaning service, is playing dirty with its workers. Like its brethren—Uber, Taskrabbits and others—the company uses independent contractors instead of employees.

California seafood restaurant on the hook for $185,000

04/21/2015
Employees of the Seafood Peddler restaurant in San Rafael have netted $185,000 after a jury determined the restaurant and its owner retaliated against them for cooperating with a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation into the eatery’s pay practices.

Which employees are eligible for health benefits?

04/21/2015
Most employers follow the lead established by the Affordable Care Act, and offer health insurance benefits to employees who work at least 30 hours per week.

Retirement crisis worsens, no rebound from recession

04/20/2015
The U.S. retirement savings crisis continues to worsen, and the typical working household still has virtually no retirement savings, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security.

Sneak peek at the IRS’ new guidance on meals

04/19/2015
The IRS hasn’t addressed whether employer-provided meals are taxable to employees in decades. So it caused some alarm when the item showed up on its 2014-2015 priority guidance plan. According to Paul Carlino, chief, Employment Tax Branch 1, IRS’ Office of Division Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities), the IRS is getting ready to issue new regulations and perhaps a revenue procedure.

Guide to 2015 state direct deposit and paycard laws

04/17/2015
States usually require that employees voluntarily participate in electronic pay programs. This chart summarizes the states’ direct deposit/paycard rules. “Mandatory” means that a state allows you to make e-payment a condition of employment, if you choose. States that don’t have laws aren’t included.

Talk up total rewards to improve engagement

04/17/2015
There’s a strong correlation between employees’ perceptions of their total compensation package and their degree of engagement at work, and employers can strengthen that connection by communicating exactly how much employees’ pay and benefits are really worth.