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Compensation & Benefits

Post-Windsor, what’s the tax status of benefits for same-sex married couples?

02/05/2014
Q. In the wake of United States v. Windsor, we have extended a number of our employee benefits to same-sex married couples. Can you provide any guidance on the proper treatment of flexible spending account (FSA) expenses and health savings account (HSA) and dependent care assistance program (DCAP) contribution limits for same-sex married couples?

Obama to order higher minimum wage for fed contractor employees

02/05/2014
President Obama plans to issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay employees at least $10.10 per hour, starting in 2015. The announcement came during Obama’s State of the Union address.

17 California employers make Fortune’s ‘best’ list

02/05/2014
Fortune magazine has tallied the 100 best companies to work for in 2014 and 17 California firms made the list. Five of the top 10 are based in Cali­­fornia—and one heads the list.

Post-DOMA: Cafeteria plans given leeway for same-sex spouses

02/05/2014
Breathe a little easier if you have a cafeteria plan that, after the demise of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and before the IRS released guidance, allowed same-sex married employees to cover their spouses’ health insurance on a pretax basis or allowed them to seek reimbursement from health or dependent care flexible spending accounts.

Sample Request Form for Corrected/Reissued 2013 W-2s

02/04/2014
It’s almost inevitable that some employees will misplace their original W-2 statements. Here’s a sample form employees can use to request a reissued W-2.

Send the groundhog packing! Avoid repeating EFW2 mistakes

02/03/2014
In the movie “Groundhog Day,” the protagonist was destined to repeat the same day over and over again. If you’ll be e-filing your W-2s using the Social Security Administration’s EFW2 filing specs, you can avoid repeating filing mistakes by taking a stroll through this checklist.

S corps lose again on reasonable FICA-taxable pay

02/03/2014
In Watson v. U.S., an appellate court ruled that the IRS can recharacterize FICA-free distributions from S corps to their owners as FICA-taxable compensation, and allowed the IRS to set the parameters for determining that reasonable FICA-taxable salary. And so far it’s nailed S corps and their owners 100% of the time. Two recent cases illustrate.

How to keep staff happy & healthy: Free food!

01/31/2014
Feeding employees is a fast-growing perk that can benefit staff and employer alike. Organizations of all sizes find that even occasional meals or simple snacks can reap many benefits. If you’re considering offering meals as an employee benefit, follow these guidelines.

Final regs clarify the 0.9% additional Medicare tax

01/29/2014
You’ve been withholding and reporting the 0.9% additional Medicare tax for a year now. Good news: With the exception of clarifying the procedure you use to request relief from paying any additional tax if employees paid the tax with their 1040 forms, final regulations make no changes to the proposed regs.

Pay up promptly when offering severance

01/28/2014
Sometimes, it’s clear from the moment that you decide to terminate an em­­ployee that she will sue. If that’s the case, a small severance payment may prevent litigation. But if you offer to settle, make sure you follow through promptly.