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Payroll

Review per diem reimbursements: IRS looking closer

06/01/2007

Make sure you’re closely tracking expense reimbursements. Since the beginning of 2007, the IRS has issued a stern warning …

IRS calculators get workout: What’s the back interest on $18 million?

06/01/2007

Three executives of Rosenbaum-Cunningham International—a West Palm Beach maintenance company serving such restaurant chains as the House of Blues, Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood—have been indicted for defrauding the federal government out of $18 million in employment taxes …

Clients must repay taxes after payroll company commits fraud

06/01/2007

Stephen Taylor of Canton, co-owner of Marietta-based 20/20 Payroll Solutions, pleaded guilty to stealing $4 million in employee taxes from more than 100 clients during the past two years …

FLSA and Georgia law: Figuring overtime pay for commission employees

06/01/2007

Georgia’s labor code contains no overtime exemption for commission-paid employees, but the federal Fair Labor Standards Act does. Georgia employers largely follow the federal law because it’s more stringent than state law. So employees who are paid on a commission basis are exempt from overtime laws, right?…

Quickly correct payroll deduction errors to avoid gross-Negligence suits

06/01/2007

Nothing upsets employees more than opening their pay envelopes and discovering their checks are for less money than they expected. But errors do happen. When they do, it’s important to act quickly to fix the problem …

Returning company property

06/01/2007

Q. Our employee handbook states: “If you do not return a piece of property, we will withhold from your final paycheck the cost of replacing that piece of property.” One of our employees recently quit on the spot. The employee was given a termination letter that cited the employee handbook section on unreturned property. He admitted he could not find his handbook—even accused management of having it. My boss wants to almost double the actual replacement cost of the item and call it “staff time spent getting the item.” Can we do this?

Detailed wage records can prevent back-Pay complaints

05/01/2007

Zablocki Industries, which operates Aunt Heddy’s Bakery in Brooklyn, has agreed to pay $25,687 in back wages and interest to six employees to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit …

Direct deposit requires employee’s written consent

05/01/2007

Q. We have been told by our accounting office that the company could save a great deal of money if it could get away from the payroll practice of providing employees with checks, and instead go to a direct-deposit arrangement. We have both a non-union work force and a small group in a union. Can we go ahead and implement such a change, or negotiate a change with the union?—M.B.

Pay back for training costs

05/01/2007

Q. Training in our field is pretty specialized and expensive. We don’t mind investing in our employees, but want to make sure that we get the benefit of the training. We have a requirement that newly trained employees must continue to work for us for at least six months following their training, or they are required to pay back the company. Our problem is how to make sure they pay it. Can we deduct it from their last paycheck?—D.B.

A genuine child-Support court order?

05/01/2007

Q. In this morning’s mail I received a letter from some group I have never heard of, asking for payroll information on an employee. The letter said, “This information is necessary to enforce court-ordered child support.” It does not say that it is a subpoena or a garnishment, and there is no court order or any kind of a waiver from the employee. I have already tossed it in the trash, but I don’t want to do something wrong. Do I need to dig it out?—S.W.