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Compensation & Benefits

States look to copy San Fran’s new paid-Leave law

03/01/2007

Most states have boosted their minimum wages above the federal $5.15 per hour. Now, several states are exploring the idea of giving employees another plus—paid sick leave …

Communicate payroll-Card benefits to help trim turnover

03/01/2007

When employees are "unbanked"—i.e., they don’t have bank accounts into which your organization can deposit their wages—they’re more likely to quickly jump ship for another job. To serve the nation’s 56 million citizens who don’t have traditional bank accounts, more organizations are using payroll cards, which are being credited with reducing turnover as well …

New state law curbs day-Labor payroll deductions

03/01/2007

Gov. Jon Corzine recently signed a bill that limits the amount of money that temporary service agencies can withhold from temps’ paychecks …

Add some investment advice to 401(k) statements

03/01/2007

t’s not a good idea for employees to invest too big a proportion of their retirement dollars in a single stock—even if it’s your organization’s stock. And the IRS says you have to point that risk out to employees four times a year on quarterly plan statements …

Forcing retirement at age 65 lands AFCO in legal hot water

03/01/2007

Chambersburg-based Alex C. Fergusson Inc. (AFCO) must pay $50,000 to a salesman after forcing him into retirement at age 65 …

Before reorganization, draw up a staff contingency plan

03/01/2007

Are you planning to use an early-retirement incentive to help reduce the size of your work force? If so, it’s wise to prepare contingency plans for the remaining open positions and carefully document them …

Citigroup’s Cash-Balance Plan Fails the Smell Test, Judge Says

03/01/2007

A U.S. District Court judge has called Citigroup’s cash-balance pension plan “a bold and exploitative contortion” of the fractional rule, which guarantees that pensions accrue uniformly over an employee’s career …

Do help-Desk workers qualify for the computer exemption?

03/01/2007

While the Fair Labor Standards Act says certain computer professionals are exempt employees, be ultra-cautious about applying this exemption. Courts are littered with cases of employers being punished for wrongly applying exempt status to lower-level IT workers, such as help-desk staff (aka “IT support specialists”) …

Results, not hours, are focus of Best Buy clock-Smashing plan

03/01/2007

At Best Buy headquarters in Richfield, Minn., leaving work early doesn’t trigger a guilt trip for employees, as long as their work is finished. The Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) initiative makes it possible …

Hiring interns: The 4 steps to keeping it legal

03/01/2007

Courts view interns the same as employees: as “agents” of your organization. So should you. If you use interns or plan to, advise supervisors to manage them as closely as employees, if not more so. And apply your workplace policies to them …