Issue 17, February 2008   SECTIONS Articles & Insights WorkForce in the News EmpCenter Webinars Upcoming Events by Roger A. Smith, CPP & Payroll Consultant “Engaged to be Waiting” or “Waiting to be Engaged?” No, it’s not payroll doubletalk. It’s a concept payroll professionals need to understand. As a member of the American Payroll Association’s Certification Board, I’m often asked about payroll concepts included in the CPP exam subject matter. One that frequently confuses test takers is the difference between “engaged to wait” and “waiting to be engaged.” [more]   OTHER ISSUES January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 SUBSCRIBE   Welcome to The Workforce Chronicle In this issue of The Workforce Chronicle we'll learn about benchmarking your payroll processes for the purpose of establishing best practices. We'll also check in with the Payroll Prof to compare "engaged to wait" and "waiting to be engaged" as they apply to payroll. Congratulations to Marla Mayo from US Oncology and Anna Zappa from Behr America for winning a copy of the BLR Special Report on FLSA Overtime: Making Your Way Through the Exempt/Nonexempt Minefield. Featured Article The 5 Steps to Benchmarking the Payroll Process Being in the payroll industry, you have an advantage when it comes to benchmarking. Every employer has a payroll process, giving you the opportunity to choose from a large variety of organizations to compare processes. The purpose of benchmarking is to find best practices that you can adapt to your environment. One of the key steps to benchmarking is choosing the right organizations and partners to share practices. How do you know if your processes are cost efficient, streamlined, or produce the best quality if no comparisons are made? You may even find the results are that your numbers and processes are comparable with other organizations your size. COMPLETE ARTICLE   Articles & Insights Sunflower (Boulder-based grocer) fined over back wages A discount natural grocer based in Boulder has agreed to pay more than $125,000 in back wages to its employees, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced this morning. [more] Taming Wild Edibles In response to illegal discrimination, sixteen current and former Wild Edibles employees filed a Federal class action lawsuit against the company on September 17. According to the complaint, Wild Edibles violated New York Labor Law and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not compensating workers 1 ½ times the base wage for working more than 40 hours per week, and by discriminating and retaliating for protected activity. [more] Coffee chain agrees to pay $2.7M to settle class action suit Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. said it has agreed to pay over $2.7 million to settle a labor dispute. [more]   WorkForce Software in the News ORIX Venture Finance Provides $5.5 Million Financing to WorkForce Software, Inc., January 22, 2008 Junot Systems and WorkForce Software Announce Alliance, January 29, 2008 More WorkForce Software In The News   EmpCenter Attendance Point Tracking & Alert Manager Attendance Point Tracking & Alert Manager accumulates and tracks all attendance or unexcused absences. It enforces your HR policies fairly by automating your specific attendance or point policies. Our Attendance Point Tracking module does not miss events, so you know the information is accurate. The integrated Alert Manager notifies you via e-mail or cellular phone whenever attendance events of interest occur. By automatically monitoring attendance information, the system takes the appropriate predefined action, such as e-mailing the manager or HR when thresholds are reached. Managers and other interested parties are only notified of events that concern them. Contact WorkForce Software for more information at info@workforcesoftware.com.   Webinars Implementing Payroll Best Practices What are Payroll Best Practices? Change Management for the Payroll Professionals Time Collection for your Mobile, Field, Remote Workforce Process Modeling in the Payroll Department Strategic Planning in the Payroll Department Payroll Technologies: Past, Present and Emerging Top 5 Essential Practices for Payroll Professionals Controlling Overtime Pay with Scheduling Automation Trends and Myths of Workforce Management The Fair Labor Standards Act - A Review   Events Stop by to see WorkForce Software at the following 2008 Conferences. South Carolina of School Board Officials – SCASBO Myrtle Beach Hilton March 4 – 6, 2008 Texas Association of School Board Officials - TASBO Austin Convention Center March 4 – 6, 2008 Booth #950 CUPA-HR Midwest Region Conference Hyatt Regency Chicago March 16 – 19, 2008 Booth #110 HR Technology in Hospitality March 17 – 18, 2008 Wynn Las Vegas Booth #313 Colorado Association of School Board Officials - CASBO Omni Interlocken Resort April 9 – 10, 2008 Southeast & Florida Association of School Board Officials - SASBO Rosen Plaza Orlando April 27 – 30, 2008 Michigan School Board Officials - MSBO DeVos Place Grand Rapids, Michigan April 30 – May 1, 2008 APA’s 26th Annual Congress Austin Convention Center May 13 – 17, 2008 Booth #412 IHRIM 2008 Disney’s Contemporary Resort Lake Buena Vista, Florida June 1 – 4, 2008 Booth #231 New York Association of School Board Officials - NYASBO Saratoga Springs, NY June 1 – 4, 2008 APA’s Leadership Forum Austin, Texas August 2008 20th Annual Northwest Regional Payroll Conference Lynnwood Convention Center Lynnwood, Washington September 18, 2008 Wisconsin Regional Payroll Conference September 18 & 19, 2008 CUPA-HR National Conference & Expo 2008 Adam’s Mark Hotel St. Louis, Missouri October 12 – 15, 2008 Booth #303 HR Technology 2008 Conference McCormick Place Chicago October 15 – 16, 2008 Booth #646     Sponsored by: