Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Business owners should be aware that customers typing away on their smartphones might actually be reporting FLSA violations to the U.S. Department of Labor. DOL’s recently created smartphone app, “Eat Shop Sleep,” allows users to search for places to eat, shop and sleep and to read Yelp customer reviews. However, the app also provides users […]
The U.S. Department of Labor is abandoning its plan to limit when children under the age of 16 can work on farms. The plan, proposed in the fall, limited the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “parental exemption” and was intended to help reduce farm-related accidents. Introducing the now-defunct proposal, DOL officials said they were responding to […]
The federal government seems to be fishing around for evidence showing that self-insured health health plans will siphon off healthy lives from state-run insurance exchanges (a cornerstone of reform). On April 26, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and IRS/Treasury issued a set of questions about the use of stop-loss […]
It may seem paradoxical that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) should begin auditing health plans for compliance with the health reform law’s mandates, given that the U.S. Supreme Court could very well strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for being unconstitutional in early summer. But it’s better that plans be ready to demonstrate […]
Preparing Staff to Handle Questions/Concerns Preparing staff to handle participant questions and concerns is of paramount importance because ineffective answers can lead to mistrust, morale issues, and compliance scrutiny. It may even lead to legal challenges under ERISA. To avoid these problems, prepare supervisors and staff. Invite your investment advisor or a representative of the […]
The changes, which take effect July 1, 2012, are big. As a plan sponsor, you will receive new information about fees paid by the plan. You will also need to give participants some new information. For guidance, we turned to a recent BLR publication, the 401(k) Fee Disclosure Compliance Download Report. Your Role As Fiduciary […]
Even non-exempt employees can cause confusion and employer liability under the FLSA. Often, employers run into trouble when attempting to classify their employees for purposes of pay exemptions. But equally tricky is how to pay non-exempt employees who have non-traditional forms of payment, such as tipped employees. The recent slew of major FLSA wage and […]
Government efforts to bring 403(b) retirement plans up to regulatory par with 401(k) plans has resulted in a rough transition for 403(b) plan sponsors, and in recognition of that fact, an ERISA advisory council gave the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) five recommendations to help ease the compliance burden. Background Over the years, many 403(b) […]
What’s Taxmageddon? Taxmageddon comes at the end of 2012, when the payroll tax and unemployment benefits extension ends and at the same time we’re likely to need another debt limit increase. If no action is taken, there will be dramatic cuts in spending that are built into the federal budget process, Aitken says. Aitken offered […]
Tips are the property of the employee, whether or not that employee has taken a tip credit under the Fair Labor Standards Act. So states Labor Department Fact Sheet #15A, released by the Wage and Hour Division in February. The fact sheet reflects tip credit regulations DOL updated in May 2011. Under the regulation, an […]