Most Popular

News Notes: Mandatory Employee Furloughs Require Caution

With the economic slowdown, if you’re tempted to ask employees to take time off to cut costs and avoid layoffs, you probably won’t have legal problems with nonexempt, nonunion employees, but use caution when it comes to exempt workers. Under the wage and hour laws, you can’t dock the pay of exempt employees, because they […]

Hot List: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, September 15. 1. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman. The author of The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History […]

Employment Law Tip: Practical Tips to Avoid Race Claims

Last year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received over 27,000 race discrimination complaints, a good indication that employers should be paying closer attention to how they can avoid race bias disputes in their own workplaces. Here are some practical tips you can use: 

Independent Contractors: New Case Highlights Tax Risks of Misclassification

A new decision from a California Court of Appeals underscores how erroneously classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees can have serious tax consequences. The case involved a group of courier companies—collectively called Sonic—that classified delivery drivers as independent contractors and reported their pay on 1099 forms. The California Employment Development Department, however, decided […]

Bulletin: Government revises Form I-9

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a new Form I-9, which you can access at www.uscis.gov. Five documents, which employees previously could have submitted for proof of identity and employment eligibility, were removed from List A because they lack sufficient features to help deter counterfeiting, tampering, and fraud. Employers can no longer accept […]

Give Yourself Time

A bystander watched as a young commuter put on a last minute spurt but still missed the train. “If you’d run just a bit faster, you’d have caught it,” the observer sympathized. “No,” the young man gasped. “It wasn’t a case of running faster, but starting sooner!” People who don’t allow themselves extra time to […]

Short Takes: Benefits

Once we hire an employee, we provide full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage to the employee, spouse, and children. Are we able to request marriage certificates and birth certificates for eligible family members for the purpose of insurance benefits? We have found that employees will often list nonrelatives for insurance benefits (e.g., a boyfriend, […]

IRS Releases 2011 Withholding Details

The IRS released details on withholding for 2011, including a payroll tax cut for employees. Employers can view early release copies of percentage method tables for income tax withholding in 2011 on the IRS website.

Inc.Com’s Business Book Bestseller List

Inc.com, the website for Inc. magazine, publishes a monthly Business Book Bestseller List. Here is the list for January 2011. 1. How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life) by Dov Seidman. A guide for companies and their leaders to achieve sustainable profit without compromising core values. 2. Rich Dad’s Prophecy: […]