Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
Expenses incurred for gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy are now deductible medical expenses under Code Section 213. The IRS announced in Action on Decision (AOD) 2011-03 that it has acquiesced to a 2010 Tax Court ruling that these expenses are deductible. The AOD appeared in the Nov. 21 Internal Revenue Bulletin. The IRS announcement […]
The American Bar Association (ABA) Journal is once again holding an election to pick the most popular law blogs — blawgs — in the land. And the nominees include four by members of the Employers Counsel Network (ECN), a group of law firms in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada that advise and represent […]
Nancy J. Leppink, deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, and Ellen Golombek, executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, signed a memorandum of understanding Dec. 5 regarding the improper classification of employees as independent contractors. “This memorandum of understanding helps us send a message: We’re standing […]
By Jason S. Ritchie The Montana Department of Labor and Industry has completed its annual review of the cost of living and has determined that the minimum wage in Montana will increase to $7.65 effective January 1, 2012. Montana workers earning the minimum wage will see an increase from $7.35 per hour to $7.65 per […]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is moving ahead with a plan to allow for quicker elections on union representation even as Congress considers legislation aimed at thwarting the Board’s proposed rule. The NLRB met on November 30 to decide on a resolution from Board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce on whether to adopt some of […]
By Dinita L. James Arizona’s minimum wage will increase 30 cents to $7.65 for the 2012 calendar year, making it 40 cents higher than the federal minimum wage. The increase is a result of Proposition 202, also known as the Raise the Arizona Minimum Wage for Working Arizonans Act, which was approved by state voters […]
There’s good news (sort of) and bad news for employers in the outlook for 2012, say attorneys from the Employers Counsel Network. They covered new developments in wage/hour compliance during a presentation at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Nashville and Las Vegas.
The IRS has been too vociferous in auditing individuals who have claimed the adoption tax credit, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests in a report. In “Adoption Tax Credit: IRS Can Reduce Audits and Refund Delays,” the GAO reports that the IRS: (1) did not sufficiently train and communicate with its auditors who were examining […]
A multi-year investigation by the United States Department of Labor into violations of wage and hour laws by New Jersey gas stations has found “consistent and widespread noncompliance,” according to agency officials. The investment action recovered more than $1 million in back wages for 295 workers. In an agency statement, DOL Secretary Hilda L. Solis […]
If you have a nondiscretionary bonus plan that is awarded to nonexempt employees at intervals greater than each week (for example, on a quarterly, semiannual or annual basis), you are required to retroactively calculate the bonus into the employee’s “regular rate” of pay.