By: Laurie E. Meyer On Thursday, March 7th, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its long-awaited proposed rule to change the minimum salary threshold for overtime eligibility. According to the DOL, this proposed rule would make more than a million more American workers eligible for overtime. First, a little bit of history. Under…
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By: Bruce B. Deadman The “Blue Wave” many pundits predicted did not result in the flipping of both houses and a total shift in the political control of the Wisconsin and federal governments. Nonetheless, both the Wisconsin and Federal governments have divided control for the first time in many years. What, if anything, does that…
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By: Katharine G. Shaw The IRS has released adjusted dollar limits for employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans, as well as for individual retirement vehicles, effective as of January 1, 2019. Most of these limits have been increased for the coming calendar year. In addition, the Social Security Administration increased the taxable earnings wage base to…
Read Full ArticleBy: James M. Kalny Regardless of whether a company is unionized it is subject to Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) which guarantees employees the right: to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities…
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By Katharine G. Shaw & Bruce B. Deadman Reminder: It’s not too soon for sponsors of 403(b) plans to start the process of adopting IRS pre-approved plan documents. Under a new program, local governments, school districts and other tax-exempt entities that sponsor retirement plans under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) can…
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By Katharine G. Shaw Deferred compensation rules under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A cover a broad range of post-employment payment arrangements. Do you have a deferred compensation plan hiding in an employment contract or employee handbook? Internal Revenue Code Section 409A provides detailed rules applicable to deferred compensation plans, including those that cover public employees….
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By James M. Kalny On April 2, 2018, in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, No. 16-1362 (Encino), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a 5/4 decision that auto dealer employees who set up service appointments (Service Advisors) are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the specific holding of Encino…
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By Bruce B. Deadman The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently identified a loophole in the “grand bargain” which impacts all Wisconsin employers who use a staffing agency to provide them with temporary employees, or who “borrow” employees from another employer. Fortunately, the Legislature acted with unusual speed to close that loophole. In Estate of Rivera…
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By Katharine G. Shaw While many changes that would have affected employee benefits were discussed as a part of tax reform in 2017, only a few made it in to the final bill. In particular, they include: the elimination of the employer deduction for parking and transit benefits; the extension of the deadline for an…
Read Full ArticleBy Katharine G. Shaw One of the changes included in the final tax reform bill last year was the elimination of the employer deduction of the cost of company-provided parking and transit expenses. As a result, companies that either pay for employee parking or reimburse transit fees should evaluate the financial effect of the changes…
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