Tag: pay rate

Cracking the Code: Adding Bonuses to FLSA Overtime Calculations

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay overtime to nonexempt employees based on their regular pay rate and the number of hours worked in a workweek. While this sounds straightforward on paper, employers commonly fail to realize that nondiscretionary bonus payments must be included in calculating the regular pay rate and, ultimately, […]

FLSA

Bonus Coverage: Discretionary vs. Nondiscretionary

Many companies annually prepare business goals and establish incentives for employees if the goals are met. One common incentive is the quarterly or annual bonus. While the reward process seems straightforward, it can come with unexpected obligations and complicated calculations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Let’s take a closer look at exactly which […]

Pay

Pay Actions: An Introduction for HR Professionals

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about compensation practices that included a brief look at pay approaches including single-rate pay, step-based pay, and a slew of pay differentials. Taking it a step further, this article is about pay actions and explains the types, why they occur, and how they’re communicated to employees.

Compensation Terminology 101

Like other professionals, compensation professionals can throw around a bunch of terms and acronyms that may or may not make a lot of sense to those not in the field. And, when we’re asked what they mean, we’re sometimes stymied when providing easy to understand definitions that are clear and concise.

How to Update Aging Salary Data for Your Organization’s Jobs

If you work in HR then you’re always busy and, as a result, your job grade data might be a smidge past its shelf life. It’s not that you don’t want up-to-the-minute salary range data but there’s almost always something else more pressing that needs your attention so it’s really easy to tell yourself—if it […]

Want an Effective Compensation Plan? Transparency Matters

At some point along the way, you’ve probably heard a comment about, talking the talk vs. walking the walk, with the implication being that action is more important than words. In a lot of ways that might be true. When it comes to compensation, however, talking the talk is pretty important, too.

What Is Pay Compression?

Pay compression is the situation in which an organization has negligible differences in pay between people who have differing skill sets and/or experience levels. It often happens when current employee pay raises don’t keep up with increases in the market pay rate—resulting in a situation in which new hires are hired in at levels similar […]

Ask the Expert: Shift Differential Pay Practices

What is a common shift differential pay amount for hourly employees? Although the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require private employers to provide differential or premium pay to employees (outside of overtime pay of time and a half over 40 hours in a workweek), many employers will reward their employees with additional pay […]