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Compensation & Benefits

New rules for commissioned sales employees?

11/29/2011
Q. What are the new developments regarding overtime exemption for commissioned sales employees?

General labor doesn’t make manager nonexempt

11/28/2011
Every year, hundreds of retail and restaurant managers sue, claiming they should be classified as nonexempt because they spend almost all their time doing the same kinds of tasks their subordinates do. But that’s not the test. In fact, managers often do double duty, performing manual tasks while also managing their workers.

Landscaper’s generous benefits cut recruiting costs to nothing

11/25/2011

The general manager of A Yard & A Half Land­scaping says she spends nothing on recruiting because the firm’s employees are eager to get jobs there for their family and friends. That might be because the organization’s benefits include the usual (medical, dental and retirement plans) and also the unusual.

Proving the ROI of wellness programs just got easier

11/24/2011

Every employer seems to be jumping on the wellness bandwagon in an effort to curb health care costs. But it’s always been hard for HR to prove its wellness investment is worth it. Reason: the inability to nail down a return on investment (ROI) on wellness programs. Now, a host of new approaches and tools have come to the rescue.

Form 941, Schedule R filers asked to conform

11/24/2011
The IRS wants agents who file their clients’ Forms 941 to please color within the lines on Schedule R, Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 941 Filers.

EBSA says employer took liberties with retirement funds

11/23/2011

The U.S. District Court for West­ern Pennsylvania has ordered Kevin T. Weir, chief executive officer of Liberty-Pittsburgh Inc., to repay $67,138 to his employee’s 401(k) plan. The settlement resulted from an in­vestigation by the U.S. Depart­ment of Labor’s EBSA.

Contesting unemployment? Prove misconduct was willful

11/23/2011
Employees fired for willful misconduct aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation. If you terminate someone for breaking a workplace rule, be prepared to prove that the employee knew about the rule and understood it.

Part-time after childbirth? Careful how you figure pay

11/23/2011
Here’s an unexpected factor to consider when an employee requests part-time work following childbearing leave: How you set her pay rate may create Equal Pay Act problems.

Employee eligible for unemployment comp if he quits because hours have dried up

11/23/2011

Employees generally aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation if they leave their jobs voluntarily. On the other hand, employees are eligible if they leave for “compelling and necessitous” reasons. One of those reasons may be a drastic reduction in available work.

What do you think? Should the Supreme Court affirm or overturn the Affordable Care Act health-care reform law?

11/22/2011
The 2010 health reform law is about as popular with HR pros as it is with the public.