A change in the rules governing overtime has been coming for two years, with a sneak preview of proposed modifications last year. But on May 18, the Department of Labor (DOL) came out with its new final rules, which take effect on December 1, 2016. The rules will significantly raise the salary level used to determine whether employees are eligible for overtime and will affect more than 4 million salaried employees, according to the DOL.

Perhaps the oldest fashion accessory to date, even older than cloth and jewelry, is the beard. Throughout the ages, the beard has had different connotations to different cultures. Sometimes, they were a favorable fashion trend, other times they were sign as a sign of uncleanliness, or even laziness. In today’s world though, the beard went through a movement that has put it at the forefront of pop culture.

Who here loves overtime? Most people would be raising their hands right about now, unless they work off a salary based paycheck that is. When you work a job that pages you an hourly wage, your maximum workweek is 40 hours. Anything past 40 hours that you work becomes overtime, which pays time and a half.

Watch for New Paid Sick Leave Rules for Some Workers Last September, President Obama issued an executive order requiring federal contractors to allow employees at least seven days of paid sick leave. Proposed regulations issued in late February 2016 (Subject

How Are Seasonal Workers Treated Under the “Play or Pay” Provision? Question: Our company has a regular full-time workforce of approximately 40 employees. This year, we’re planning to hire about 80 more full-time retail employees in November and December for the

Some people seem to believe that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has replaced the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). That’s wrong, although the ACA has changed COBRA and the health insurance landscape in recent years. Obtaining health insurance through an

Are You a Joint Employer? The DOL Weighs In If your company is classified as a joint employer with one or more other companies, you may be liable for overtime pay even if you carefully avoid workweeks that exceed 40 hours

Could Your Business Benefit from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit? If you plan to hire new employees this year, you’re not alone. Employment statistics ended 2015 on a positive note. In addition, roughly 242,000 new jobs were added in February and

Is it Worth Paying Employees Under the Table? Let’s face facts, it can get confusing handling a business’s finances. Payroll alone includes having to figure out things like figuring out tax reductions, keeping records, reporting employee’s income, etc and so

Can We Match Our Employees’ Pretax HSA Contributions? Question: Under our company’s cafeteria plan, qualifying participants can make pretax salary reduction contributions to their Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Can our company make matching contributions based on a percentage of participants’ pretax