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Payroll

Keep the FLSA at Bay During the Holidays

11/03/2011
The time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is a busy time for many companies. Questions regarding overtime, holiday pay and seasonal hires often arise. You don’t have to play Scrooge this holiday season, if you know the rules as written in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Regs Require Uniform Summary of Health Benefits & Coverage

11/01/2011
Beginning March 23, 2012, all group health plans—including grandfathered plans, self-insured plans and plans not covered by ERISA—must provide employees and beneficiaries with a simple explanation of their benefits and a uniform glossary covering basic health insurance and medical terms.

Trade legislation impacts FUTA, new-hire reporting

10/31/2011
To offset the cost of three new free-trade agreements, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 requires states to beef up their unemployment and new-hire reporting laws. Both provisions will affect your payroll operations.

Health benefit affordability safe harbor leans on payroll

10/30/2011

Under the Affordable Care Act health care reform law, employers will pay a penalty if just one employee enrolls in coverage through the individual exchange and receives a premium tax credit and his or her contribution isn’t affordable because it exceeds 9.5% of his or her household income. Problem: You usually don’t know employees’ household income. To remedy this, the IRS is proposing an employer affordability safe harbor.

Wage payment on termination: state laws

10/30/2011
Most states have regulations regarding the timing of when employers have to pay employees when a termination occurs. Often, there is a difference in that timing when it involves an employee who quits versus an employee who is fired by the employer.

2012 Withholding Numbers: First Round Released

10/30/2011
The IRS has yet to release the 2012 percentage method and wage-bracket withholding tables. It did, however, release the 2012 inflation-adjusted withholding allowance amounts and the amounts employees can defer from their pay for qualified transportation fringe benefits. Also unsettled is the Social Security tax rate for 2012.

Duplicate W-2s? How Do We Fix This Mistake?

10/24/2011
Question: As part of our year-end process, we look back to the preceding year just to make sure that everything was wrapped up correctly. We found that an employee who worked for two divisions of the company earned a total of $10,000. However, both divisions filed separate W-2s for him reporting the same $10,000, for a total of $20,000. Subsequently, one of the divisions filed a W-2c form to correct its error. The employee has now informed us that $0 wages have been credited to his earnings account. What’s the best way for us to reinstate his earnings?

Off the W-2 Hook?

10/24/2011
Question: Our company will soon begin outsourcing the payroll to a new third-party provider. It has a feature that allows em­­ployees to view their check stubs and W-2s by logging onto its website. We were told that the company will be saving a bundle because employees can now access their W-2s online. Does the IRS allow this?

Will your 2012 per-employee compensation budget be larger than it was this year?

10/04/2011
More than half of poll respondents say payroll will not grow in 2012.

Are FSA reimbursements reportable?

10/01/2011
Question: An employee signed up for a cafeteria plan health flexible spending account (FSA). Last February, she had back surgery, which meant that she was reimbursed for the full amount of her annual election. She quit before the balance of her elective deferral could be withheld from her pay. Must we report the amount paid out to her from the FSA, but not yet deducted from her pay, on her W-2?