Editor’s Note

​Wage and hour claims under federal and state law continue to grow at alarming rates. Are you doing everything you can to ensure your business is compliant with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? Given the high costs associated with litigation, as well as the increased costs and risks of employment litigation, employers should proactively develop a plan to reduce the risk of lawsuits and to mitigate the exposure of discrete problems.

10 Fastest Ways To Get Hit With An FLSA Lawsuit: Common FLSA violations you should avoid

​2016 is gearing up to be a record breaking year for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuits — and not in a good way. The number of government prosecutions alone has increased more than 465 percent in the last 20 years, and experts predict that those numbers will only continue to climb.

Legal and Compliance Excellence Advertisers: November 2016

Keep Your Project Compliant With The New OT Rules: 6 tips for project managers

​The Department of Labor recently finalized the nation’s overtime (OT) pay rules, and companies everywhere are thinking about what this means for their business and changes they’ll need to make in order to comply with the new regulations. If you’re a project manager – or an executive responsible for pitching and securing new projects – the OT rules could have a big impact on the way you structure and manage projects going forward.

Minimum Wage Requirements: California’s patchwork of local/city minimum wage ordinances

California’s recent minimum wage increase will, over 18 months, create the highest state minimum wage in the U.S. history, by 2023 at $15.00 per hour,1 when adjusted for inflation. California’s minimum wage will, likewise, exceed the national minimum wage of any country in the world.2

A Bitter Pill To Swallow?: The EEOC on prescription drug testing policies

Is there a downside to drug screening — other than the expense and extra time? Yes, if you are not careful in how you conduct the drug screens. While federal and state regulations may have something to say on the matter, guess who/what else does? If you guessed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) you are correct! You deserve a prize.

Cyber Security: 7 ways HR professionals can help prevent a cyber-attack

Cyber security is at the forefront of risk management for businesses of all sizes. In the digital age, it is no longer a question of if your business is going to be a victim of a data breach. It is more a case of when and how severe.

Regulations And Compliance Trends Only Gaining Momentum: How to be the “big-picture thinkers”

The Fair Labor Standard Act’s (FLSA) new rule will boost the salary threshold to a level that will make millions of currently exempt workers eligible for overtime. With overtime expansion on the track toward an effective date of Dec. 1, employers need to prepare now for major financial and operational challenges that may occur. The next steps involve gaining insight into the rule and estimating your company’s potential overtime costs.

Staying Compliant As A Global Workforce

Managing compliance on a global scale could prove to be the greatest challenge for HR and payroll professionals in 2016. In order to meet this challenge, businesses should aim to improve data management practices in partnership with a global payroll provider while striving to achieve a deep understanding of the ever-changing compliance landscape.

De Minimis Fringe Benefits: What’s taxable and what’s not?

In general, a de minimis benefit is one for which, considering its value and the frequency with which it is provided, is so small as to make accounting for it unreasonable or impractical. De minimis benefits are excluded under Internal Revenue Code section 132(a)(4) and include items which are not specifically excluded under other sections of the Code.