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Compensation & Benefits

5 ways employees can build financial security

01/22/2015
Employees whose financial affairs are in order can focus more on work and less on money worries at home. If you offer financial literacy training as an employee benefit, include these tips from the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

In ACA’s second year, large employers respond

01/22/2015
More than half of employers with 1,000 or more employees are unprepared to comply with all Affordable Care Act regulatory requirements, but they are moving ahead with plans to deal with ongoing changes in the benefits landscape that the health care reform law has spawned.

Must we pay for time spend in security line?

01/21/2015
Q. To prevent theft, we require our employees to pass through security screenings after they finish their shifts. Because we have a large number of employees, it can take up to 25 minutes for employees to get through the screening line. Do we have to pay our employees for the time they spend in line and going through the security screenings?

Feds’ myRA retirement plan now open for business

01/21/2015
It’s now possible to offer your employees a secure retirement savings account at no cost to you. The federally insured myRA program that President Obama announced in his 2014 State of the Union address is now accepting enrollees.

White House pushes for paid sick, family leave

01/21/2015
The Obama administration has unveiled a series of proposals to provide paid family leave for new parents and seven days of paid sick leave for all American workers.

2015 standard mileage rate increases 1.5¢, to 57.5¢ per mile

01/21/2015
Despite the steep drop in gas prices at the pump, the IRS’ standard mileage rate, which you may use to reimburse employees who drive their own cars on business, increases to 57.5¢ a mile for 2015, from 56¢ a mile.

Vodka maker keeps moms on board with family-friendly employee perks

01/20/2015
A lot of moms work for the maker of Guinness beer and Smirnoff vodka, so Diageo North America has a lot benefits to keep them on board.

IRS OKs safe harbors for 401(k) plan rollovers

01/20/2015
401(k) plans have long been able to accept direct rollovers from other plans or IRAs. Dilemma: You weren’t always certain that new employees could roll over their account balances in the first place. To solve this conundrum, the IRS has designed two streamlined rollover safe harbors.

Union-Organizing Efforts

01/20/2015

HR Law 101: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) applies strict rules of conduct to employers during union-organizing campaigns. But whether you choose to accept the union or resist it, you can still exercise your rights effectively. Or, if a union has already won a representation election in your organization, you need to know how to prevent the union from encroaching on your management rights … 

How to report a canceled loan?

01/16/2015
Question: An employee left our company in 2012. While he worked here, he had taken out a loan from the company and he signed a promissory note. The problem is that the company was sold in 2013, with the outstanding loan on the books. Our new employer just canceled the loan. How do we report this canceled loan? On a W-2, since the loan arose in the course of employment? Or on a 1099-MISC form, since he’s no longer an employee?