There are many ways to run afoul of overtime laws. Below are some of the most common — review them to ensure that you're always in compliance. Misclassifying exempt and nonexempt employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, exempt employees do not have to be paid overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek, but most of them must receive a salary of at least $684 per week. When … [Read more...]

How important is salary? According to Ceridian's 2019 Pay Experience Report, "An employee's experience with pay directly impacts how they feel about working for a company. How compensation is set, and how easily an employee can access what they've earned, is more closely tied to engagement and retention than most imagine." There are five factors that influence the pay experience: Fair … [Read more...]

In the National Payroll Week 2020 survey, 59.99% of respondents say they are "very certain" their payroll withholding and take-home pay are correct each payday. This leaves 40.1% who are not very certain — and that's a problem, because you want your employees to be "very certain" that their paychecks are correct. Assuming you are paying your employees correctly, here are four tips to boost … [Read more...]

Studies show that employees are more likely to stay with their employer if they feel their needs are being met. With retention hinging on employers' ability to dial in to employees' needs, it's not surprising that personalized benefits are gaining eminence. According to MetLife's 15th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, employees want personalized benefits, and employers can score big by … [Read more...]

In August 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor released Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-5. The bulletin addresses "Employers' obligation to exercise reasonable diligence in tracking teleworking employees' hours of work." While the bulletin covers issues arising directly from the COVID-19 pandemic, it also applies to remote work arrangements in general. FAB 2020-5 affirms that employers … [Read more...]

On Sept. 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a final rule increasing the salary threshold for executive, administrative and professional employees from $455 per week to $684 per week. These "white-collar" employees are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime pay provisions. The final rule took effect Jan. 1, 2020. What the federal overtime exemption rule means It means … [Read more...]

You're finishing up open enrollment, but some employees are only getting started. They stride into your office, or the HR department, requesting guidance on the process; however, their demeanor says they just want to get it over with. Or maybe your employees aren't participating in your benefits program as vigorously as you'd like. Even though you're supplying benefits — such as health … [Read more...]

At times, you may want to suddenly change an hourly employee's work schedule to better suit your business needs. However, several jurisdictions have enacted predictive scheduling laws to prevent certain employers from changing hourly employees' schedules without giving advance notice. On Nov. 25, 2014, San Francisco passed the first predictive scheduling law, called 'The Formula Retail Employee … [Read more...]

When employees quit or miss work for some reason, when layoffs become necessary, or even when it's just a matter of busy season, cross-trained employees can step in to minimize disruption. Simply put, cross-training is about showing employees how to do each other's jobs. Cross-Training Has No Industry Limits Even if you have only a few employees, cross-training can help you mitigate damages … [Read more...]

If you have employees, you must deposit all the federal income tax you withhold from your employees (based on their W-4 forms), including both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes. Based on your situation, you may have to make deposits on a monthly or a semiweekly schedule — and deciding which one is right for your business involves calculations: If you're a … [Read more...]