Tag: business

Expense Reimbursements: IRS Raises Mileage Rate for 2008

The Internal Revenue Service has increased the standard mileage rate commonly used to reimburse employees for business use of a car to 50.5 cents per mile, up from 48.5 cents in 2007. The new rate will apply to miles driven beginning Jan. 1, 2008. Employers who use the IRS standard mileage rate to reimburse employees […]

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, December 4. 1. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein. The neo-liberal economic policies—privatization, free trade, slashed social spending—that the Chicago School and the economist Milton Friedman have foisted […]

Sharing The Wealth

The California Supreme Court recently ruled that employers may lawfully use net-profit-based incentive plans to compensate their employees.1 Employers may base profit-based bonus or incentive plans on the traditional measure of company profits, regardless of whether the employee is exempt. Before the ruling, an employer would have had to add workers’ comp and other business-related […]

Employee Exemptions: Appeals Court Limits the Administrative Exemption

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and California law exempt certain administrative employees from overtime; the requirements for the administrative exemption under California law are stricter than the FLSA. To qualify for this exemption in California, an employee must: 1) earn a salary equal to at least twice the state minimum wage; 2) perform […]

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, November 26. 1. Personal History by Katharine Graham. This candid and insightful autobiography tells the story of Katharine Graham’s personal struggles as a daughter, wife and mother and her professional triumphs as she […]

Straight Man

HR writer Sarah McAdams reviews the book Straight Man by Ricard Russo. Review highlights real-life business lessons that can be learned from the fictional book. Straight Man: A Novel isn’t your standard business book—hell, it isn’t any kind of business book. But the 1997 novel by Richard Russo (you may know him better for his […]

Employment Law Tip: Are You Ready for the Big One?

Just two weeks ago, a temblor measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale rattled San Jose and was felt throughout the reaches of the Bay Area. Fortunately, it didn’t cause any major damage. But the quake was another wake-up call for California residents and businesses about the possibility of a much bigger, destructive quake occurring in […]