Top 7 Compensation Articles of 2012 from Compensation Daily Advisor

Misclassification—calling individuals “independent contractors” or “volunteers” who properly should be employees—is a burgeoning legal battleground for employers. A recent 30-million-dollar suit on behalf of newspaper carriers is a good example of the stakes involved, says attorney Christine V. Walters.

Many employers have written policies prohibiting unauthorized overtime. Such policies are fine—but you still have to pay employees for all hours they work, even if they have repeatedly violated your policy by working the extra hours.

If you’ve got hourly workers, eventually you’ll hear the dreaded “There’s someone at reception from DOL’s Wage/Hour division (WHD). Something about all our payroll records.” Here’s what happens and what to do to be prepared.

Releases of claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) are typically part of ERIPs, but they have to be carefully drafted and managed say attorneys Chris Anderson and Sarah C. Maxwell. If they are not, employees probably can keep the money and still sue you.

“Fire the slugs,” says management expert Jeff Cortes. That’s good turnover and also it’s good for retention—all of your other employees have been wondering when you would act.

Compensation has never been slow, but 2012 offers an unusual number of special issues for comp managers. Today, compensation experts Terry Pasteris and Mark Lipis line out 2012’s key focal points for different types of organizations.

PTO plans, which eliminate distinctions between types of leave, do relieve HR of an administrative burden and the dreaded role of “absence police,” but there are some drawbacks, says attorney John Hagan.