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Payroll

Pizza Hut employees clock in using fingerprint biometrics

08/25/2011

At 118 Pizza Hut restaurants in South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, employees give their fingerprints instead of ID numbers to clock in and out for the day. The restaurants are using Digital­Persona fingerprint readers for transactions like overrides, voids and discount authorizations.

How far must we go to deliver a final paycheck to a former employee?

08/23/2011
Q. Over the past six months, we have made several attempts to mail a former employee her last paycheck by certified mail. We believe we have the correct address because we mailed her other items by regular mail during this period and none has been returned. What legal obligations do we have, if any, to get this check to her?

It’s not your money! Never demand employees hand over their tax refunds

08/18/2011
Employees are entitled to their wages—and they can’t be forced (or persuaded) to turn over tax refunds to an employer.

Pay Statements: 50 State Laws

08/11/2011

Most states have laws that require employers to provide workers with regular statements about their compensation. To help you prevent pay-stub violations, this downloadable PDF chart cites the pay-statement laws for all states that have such laws. Plus, it explains whether pay stubs can be provided to employees electronically …

Do child support withholding orders expire?

08/10/2011
Question: A rehired employee will soon be receiving his first paycheck. He had a child support withholding order when he terminated. Should I withhold for that order or wait for a new order?

SSNs or ITINs on W-2s?

08/10/2011
Question: What should employers do if the only ID number they have for an employee is an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), and not a Social Security Number (SSN)?

Regs outline IRS whistle-blowers’ rights and responsibilities

08/10/2011
It’s not exactly WikiLeaks, but Payroll administrators who are distressed over other employees’ alleged violations of the tax code can work with the IRS’ Whistleblower Office to expose tax law violators. Final regulations set some of the ground rules for cooperating with the IRS in whistle-blower investigations.

FUTA surtax expired: Now what?

08/10/2011

The 0.2% “temporary” FUTA surtax, which has been in effect since 1976, expired at the end of June. So far, Congress hasn’t introduced legislation to extend it. But if the surtax is re-enacted retroactively?

Filing False W-4s Lands Employee in Prison

08/10/2011
A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction and 21-month prison sentence of an employee who filed W-4 forms on which he falsely claimed an exemption from income tax withholding. The ruling raises the ante for tax protesters who commit W-4 fraud.

Worker lost $700: Can we make him pay it back?

08/10/2011
Q. One of our employees ran an errand for us to pick up $700 in cash. He says he lost it. Can we make him pay it back?