Month: May 2012

Why Do People Work for You? 3 Reasons

Have you ever asked yourself why people work for you?, asks business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald. Have you ever even stopped to think about why anyone would choose to work for you? It might not be something that’s ever crossed your mind. But stop and think about it for a minute. Why you? Oswald, […]

IRS Further Explains Reform Rules on Health FSAs

Employers and plan administrators that offer health flexible spending accounts have been bracing themselves for Jan. 1, 2013. That’s when the $2,500 limit on health FSA salary reduction contributions provided for in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act kicks in. The IRS on May 30 issued Notice 2012-40, which provides guidance on the limit, […]

Federal DOMA Unconstitutional, First Circuit Says, But Doesn’t Disturb State Laws

Employers and plan administrators hoping clarity will soon dispel the confusing tangle of divergent laws governing same-sex marriage and how they must address it in their benefit plans and HR policies have longer to wait. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 31 issued a ruling in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Department […]

Can You Scrap the Original Once It’s Scanned?

Yesterday’s Advisor focused on Jacuzzi’s rules for electronic recordkeeping. Today, we’ll get more of his tips and an introduction to BLR’s popular “find-it-before-the-feds-do” FLSA audit program. Jacuzzi is a shareholder in the South San Francisco law firm Simpson, Garrity, Innes & Jacuzzi, P.C. His comments came at a recent audio conference sponsored by BLR®. What […]

Employers Can Weigh in on Smartcard Guidance

Employers that offer mass transit benefits have an opportunity to put in their two cents’ worth on whether the IRS should issue clarifying guidance on the use of smartcards in conjunction with qualified transportation fringe benefits. The IRS said in Notice 2012-38, which it issued May 26, “The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have become […]

Should You Shift to Electronic Recordkeeping? (Hint: You Already Have)

  E-mail Spreadsheets Website E-documents Presentations Voice mail Payroll And just look at what else is potentially keeping an electronic record: Telephone extension detail Computer/network system log-on, log-off times Scantron® security system details Outlook calendars, notes, to-do lists Private files/journals Papers E-mail Microsoft® Word WordPerfect® Excel® PowerPoint® .pdf files Voice Mail Video clips Photographs .wav […]

Pay less for FLSA liability coverage by updating policies and monitoring workers

A relatively new form of insurance, employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) became popular in the 1990s after the 1991 Civil Rights Act amendments increased the frequency of discrimination claims in the workplace. EPLI typically covers defense costs, judgments and settlements of employment issues ranging from sexual harassment to wrongful termination. While many employers do not […]

What’s the Appropriate Sales Level for Commission to Kick In?

Schum, a Senior Consultant at Compensation Resources, Inc. in Upper Saddle River, NJ offered his tips for sales compensation design at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR/HRhero. Sales Compensation Model Schum offers an example of the true cost of a salesperson and then charts out how that might translate into a bonus program. Cost of […]

Sales Comp: All About How You Split the W-2 Pie

Schum, a Senior Consultant at Compensation Resources, Inc. in Upper Saddle River, NJ offered his tips for sales compensation design at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR/HRhero. For example, Schum says, here’s how one organization might split the sales compensation W-2 pie: Sample Sales Compensation Mix Tier     Scope of Accountability Base Salary (Fixed) Bonus (Variable)  […]

Twitter Stirring Up Trouble at Work

By: Kyle Emshwiller Facebook isn’t the only social media network that can stir up trouble at work. Here are a few cautionary Twitter tales. Social Media in the Big League—Major league baseball hit a home run earlier this spring by issuing new social media guidelines. According to reports, the policy was not intended to deter […]