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Compensation & Benefits

Substantiation eased for hardship retirement distributions

06/22/2017
One of the first things IRS auditors examine when auditing 401(k) or 403(b) plans is documentation backing up hardship distributions made to employees who need cash. New exception: New instructions to auditors ease this substantiation burden by allowing plans to ditch retaining original documentation in favor of summaries of employees’ financial need.

In the Payroll Mailbag …

06/22/2017
What do to when health benefit deductions go bad … No proof of identity from employee … Are pedometers taxable? … Rules for providing electronic W-2s … What company cars and library books have in common

The Mouse is not pleased! What’s your policy on uniforms?

06/22/2017

Mickey and Minnie have gotten their due. The Department of Labor has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Walt Disney Co. to pay $3.8 million in back wages to 16,339 “cast members” who had to pay for “costumes” to be worn at the company’s theme parks.

HHS civil rights office warns of HIPAA phishing scam

06/22/2017
If you have a health plan, the odds are you’re covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights—the OCR—has become aware of two phishing schemes related to HIPAA.

Glitch arises with payroll tax credit for research

06/22/2017
The credit is taken on Form 941. For calendar year businesses, the first time the credit can be taken is on the second-quarter form, which is due July 31.

Feds: Payroll news you can use

06/22/2017
Here are digests of some recently released official announcements from around the federal government.

Retirees entitled to prompt payment of final wages

06/22/2017
The California Supreme Court has ruled that penalty wages, in addition to final wages, were due to a retiree whose final pay was late. PLUS: a 2017 all-states chart on penalty wages.

Despite repeal, employers would keep ACA provisions

06/20/2017
As the Senate continues to consider legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, employers expect to retain many of the ACA’s popular provisions, even if they are not required to by a new law.

Employers boosting benefits to woo talent

06/20/2017
Nearly one-third of organizations increased their overall benefits in the last 12 months in an effort to stand out as employers of choice in today’s competitive recruiting environment.

Court: Fiduciary overpriced stock in ESOP transaction

06/19/2017
A federal judge in New York, presiding over a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit, has found that First Bankers Trust Services breached its duties of prudence and loyalty to the participants of an employee stock ownership plan sponsored by SJP Group, a New Jersey paving company.