Payroll

Subscribe to Payroll via RSS

On May 27, 2015, the New York State Department Of Labor (“NYSDOL”) published proposed rules addressing the payment of wages by payroll debit cards.  Pursuant to the draft regulations, prior to paying an employee by payroll debit card, an employer must:
Continue Reading New York State Department of Labor Published Proposed Rules Regarding Non-Exempt Employees Paid by Debit Card

In a decision issued on Tuesday, December 9, 2014, the United States Supreme Court ruled that employees are not entitled to compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for the time they spend waiting to undergo, and actually do undergo, security screenings.  The Court’s unanimous decision in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, et al., reverses a judgment of the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit which found that Integrity Staffing employees could state an unpaid wages claim under the FLSA for undergoing a daily security screening because the screenings were required by, and for the benefit of, their employer.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Security Screening Time is Non-Compensable Under Federal Law and The Portal-to-Portal Act

On November 25, 2014, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed two ordinances that are collectively referred to as the San Francisco Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights:  (1) the “Hours and Retention Protections for Formula Retail Employees” ordinance and (2) the “Fair Scheduling and Treatment of Formula Retail Employees” ordinance.  The San Francisco Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights must be passed by Mayor Edwin Lee in order to take effect.  However, even if the mayor were to veto the ordinances, the Board of Supervisors may be able to override the veto and enact the ordinances.
Continue Reading San Francisco Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights

In the wake of a debate over increasing the federal minimum wage, two Northern California cities voted to increase their local minimum wage rates during the recent midterm elections.  On Tuesday, November 4, 2014, San Francisco became the second U.S. city to raise its minimum wage to $15.00 per hour, while Oakland raised its minimum wage to $12.25 per hour.
Continue Reading Two New Minimum Wage Increases Pass In Northern California

On July 14, 2014, the California Supreme Court held in Peabody v. Time Warner Cable, Inc. that employees qualify for the California “commissioned employee” exemption in a pay period only if they receive “earnings [that] exceed one and one-half (1-1/2) times the minimum wage” in that two-week pay period.  The Court held that an employer may not satisfy the minimum earnings prong of the exemption by reassigning wages from a different pay period for employees who are paid commissions that are calculated monthly.  In addition, as explained below, while the Court expressly declined to address the issue, its reasoning will lead plaintiffs’ counsel to argue that more than half of an employee’s pay in a pay period must “represent commissions” if the employee is to meet the exemption in that pay period.
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Limits Application of Commissioned Employee Exemption

On Tuesday, March 25, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Internal Revenue Service in a dispute over the payroll tax treatment of certain types of severance compensation.  The justices, in an 8-0 vote, overturned the Sixth Circuit’s opinion in Quality Stores, Inc., which had held that severance pay made in connection with an involuntary separation from employment due to a reduction in force, plant shutdown or similar condition (so–called “supplemental unemployment compensation benefits”) is not subject to tax under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA).
Continue Reading Severance Payments are Taxable under FICA

As we detailed in a previous posting (available here), in September 2012, Governor Cuomo signed into law new legislation which permits employers to make additional deductions from employees’ paychecks. Among other things, the bill amended Section 193 of the New York Labor Law to authorize employers to make deductions from an employee’s wages to recover accidental wage overpayments, or to make deductions for repayment of a salary/wage advance.  Although the statute became effective on November 6, 2012, under the law, such deductions could only be made subject to regulations to be promulgated by the New York Department of Labor (“NY DOL”).  At long last, on October 9, 2013, the NY DOL issued final regulations which govern how employers can implement the new legislation.
Continue Reading Update: New York Department of Labor Issues Final Wage Deduction Regulations

As we detailed in a previous blog post (available here), in September 2012, Governor Cuomo signed into law new legislation which permits employers to make additional deductions from employees’ paychecks. Among other things, the bill amended Section 193 of the New York Labor Law to authorize employers to make deductions from an employee’s wages to recover accidental wage overpayments, or to make deductions in connection with repayment of a salary/wage advance. Although the statute became effective on November 6, 2012, under the law, such deductions could only be made subject to regulations to be promulgated by the New York Department of Labor. This guidance came on May 22, 2013, when the Department of Labor published its proposed regulations for wage deductions under Section 193. In addition to addressing the procedures for deductions for overpayments and advances, the proposed regulations also provide clarification on deductions that may be taken “for the benefit of the employee.” The proposed regulations (available here) are currently open for public comment until July 6, 2013, meaning the Department of Labor will likely finalize and then codify its regulations later this summer.
Continue Reading Update: New York Department of Labor Releases Proposed Wage Deduction Regulations