Compensation & Benefits

Clients out of luck to recover embezzled payroll deposits

11/30/2012

A court has ruled that the IRS doesn’t have to return to defrauded clients a bankrupt payroll service bureau’s tax deposits that were collected from them but were used to make deposits for other clients. The defrauded clients, therefore, have paid twice …

Keep your holiday pay & bonuses legal: 4 simple steps

11/30/2012

Don’t confuse Uncle Sam with Santa Claus. When it comes to violating pay laws around the holidays, the feds won’t be generous if your organization is on the naughty list. Here are four rules to make sure holiday pay complies with the FLSA and IRS rules.

Hello, SSA? Can you help me? I need to delete a file

11/29/2012

If you need to delete a file that was sent by mistake, the Social Security Administration doesn’t want to hear from you anymore. Instead, you can delete any file prior to processing through the SSA’s Submission Status app.

New IRS ruling differentiates between tips, service charges

11/28/2012

Regardless of what you call it, tips are amounts customers willingly determine and leave of their own accord; service charges are added to the bill. According to a new IRS revenue ruling, service charges are immediately taxable as wages; tips are taxable when employees report them to you.

You can do it! How to build a better W-2

11/27/2012

This year, completing W-2 forms will be even more challenging for employers that must report employees’ health benefits. Here’s the scoop on what you need to know to get W-2s right the first time.

1 employee, 2 employers and health benefits: How many W-2s?

11/23/2012

Question: How do we report an employee’s health benefits if he transferred between two divisions of the same company, and each division has its own Employer Identification Number? Must each division report separately, or can we combine this information and report it on one W-2?

Employees can contribute $500 more to 401(k)s next year

11/21/2012

The IRS has announced that the amount employees can defer on a pretax basis into 401(k) accounts goes up to $17,500 in 2013.

Holiday bonuses: When it’s OK to pass the buck

11/19/2012

Commercials for holiday gifts have been running on TV since at least Halloween. So naturally, employees are making their lists and checking them twice. Perhaps they’re counting on a holiday bonus to pay for it all. If holiday bonuses are in your future, be sure to cover these bases.

How much leave notice does CFRA require?

11/16/2012

Q. An employee just notified HR he would like to take immediate leave under the California Family Rights Act. Can we require more notice?

Should we be paying overtime to employee who receives after-hours phone calls?