Cornerstone Blog
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What Is a Workweek? Understanding the “Workweek” Concept in U.S. Employment and Payroll Compliance
In U.S. payroll practice, accurately understanding the concept of a workweek has a significant impact on the accuracy of overtime calculations, timekeeping, payroll cutoff procedures, recordkeeping, and audit readiness. Because the word itself is not difficult, it is easy to assume that a workweek simply means a calendar week. For those who think in terms […]
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Looking Beyond Job-Based HR ― Skill-Based Talent Strategy
In recent years, one of the HR topics that has rapidly gained attention among Japanese companies is job-based HR. Under the traditional membership-based employment model, challenges such as unclear job definitions and the difficulty of seeing employees’ areas of expertise have made it increasingly difficult to respond to globalization and make effective use of highly […]
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What Is RROP? Understanding Regular Rate of Pay in U.S. Employment and Payroll Compliance
Last Update: October 1, 2025 Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the wage rate used to calculate overtime pay is called the Regular Rate of Pay (RROP). Understanding RROP correctly and calculating it properly is extremely important for employers to maintain compliance. In this article, we will explain the basic concept of RROP using […]
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What Is Minimum Wage in the U.S.? Key Rules for Employment and Payroll Compliance
Last Update：September 11, 2025 The minimum wage in the United States cannot be understood simply as “the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.” Employers must understand the three-layered legal structure of federal, state, and local minimum wage laws, as well as special rules for tipped employees, young workers, workers with disabilities, and student workers. […]
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The Importance of Setting a Coaching Topic
When people think of coaching, they often think of “goal setting.”And indeed, clarifying goals is an essential element of coaching. However, through many coaching conversations with clients, I occasionally find myself wondering: “Is this truly the topic the client needs to explore in this session, right now?” Because goals are set within the context of […]
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What Are Exempt and Nonexempt Employees? A Key Classification in U.S. Employment and Payroll Compliance
Last Update: May 9, 2025 For HR professionals and payroll practitioners in the United States, the terms “exempt employee” and “nonexempt employee” are extremely important.These classifications are based on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 2, 3, a federal law that establishes key rules for wages and working hours. Whether an employee is classified as […]
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What Is Coaching－A Beginner’s Guide to the Basics and How It Works
In recent years, the term “coaching” has become increasingly familiar in both business settings and personal development contexts. However, many people still find themselves wondering: In reality, coaching is not about giving advice or instructions. Coaching is a structured process in which a professional called a coach engages in dialogue with a client to draw […]
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What Is Worker Classification? Key Rules for U.S. Employment, Tax, and Payroll Compliance
Last Update: April 24, 2025 This article provides a comprehensive and practical overview of worker classification, an issue that no company doing business in the United States can afford to ignore. Worker classification is the process of determining whether a worker should be treated as an employee or an independent contractor. It is a foundational […]
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What Do People Who Maximize the Benefits of Coaching Have in Common?―Coaching delivers the most value to those who step on the gas.
“Does coaching really work?”“I tried coaching, but I didn’t feel much change.” You sometimes hear comments like these. At the same time, there are many people who use coaching as a catalyst to significantly advance their lives and careers. So where does this difference come from? In short, people who maximize the benefits of coaching […]
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What Is the Goal of Coaching: Avoiding a Journey Without a Destination
The term “coaching” originates from the word “coach,” which originally referred to a carriage. A carriage is a vehicle that transports people to a destination. In modern terms, it is similar to a taxi. A taxi functions precisely because the destination is clear. If the request is simply “I want to go somewhere,” without any […]
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Introducing Cornerstone Strategy LLC
Background According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s survey on the number of overseas business locations established by Japanese companies, there were 82,224 Japanese business locations worldwide as of October 1, 2023.1 In 2019, the number was 74,072. Although there was a temporary decline in 2021 due to the impact of the global […]