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Payroll

No need to send ‘questionable’ W-4s to IRS

05/01/2005
You no longer need to send in copies of suspicious W-4 withholding forms to the IRS. In the past, employers had to send the IRS copies of W-4s for employees who …

Plan ahead for new retirement-plan option: Roth 401(k)

05/01/2005
IRS regulations paved the way for a major new retirement plan opportunity. Beginning next January, participants in employer 401(k) plans will be allowed to funnel all or part of their 401(k) …

You can adjust salaries based on occasional business ups and downs

04/01/2005
Employees must be paid on a “salary basis” to be declared exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In the past, some employers tried to evade that …

High court to answer ‘donning’ and ‘doffing’ questions

04/01/2005
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last month to take up cases that could affect your payroll practices under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), particularly if you employ people who must …

Keep salary offers in check for new college grads

04/01/2005
Starting pay for new grads will remain modest this year, except in certain fields, such as tech and engineering, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) predicts.
In a …

Office business manager: Exempt or nonexempt?

04/01/2005

Q. We’re a nine-physician medical clinic, and we employ a salaried business manager. She makes less than $100,000 but more than $23,660 per year. Her duties include personnel, hiring and firing, and office work. We don’t give her comp time or overtime pay. If she takes a partial day off, she must use vacation time (paid time off). In light of the new (FLSA, overtime) rules, are we handling this correctly? —B.B., Missouri

Monthly pay is OK, but keep payday consistent

04/01/2005

Q. Doesn’t federal law say employees must be paid within two weeks of completing their work, no matter the excuse (computer glitch, etc.)? —A.L., Virginia

Help employees simplify expense reporting

04/01/2005
If employees waste a lot of work time filling out expense reports from a bundle of receipts, check out a new NeatReceipts software and scanner package that captures images of receipts …

Travel Time Is ‘Work Time’ if It Cuts Across Workday

02/01/2005

Q. We hired a new branch manager in a one-person office in another town. Because she earns $19,240 a year, she doesn’t meet the new annual threshold of $23,660 for exempt status, correct? Several times a year, she escorts trips involving overnight stays. While she’s out, she forwards her calls to the host office and closes her doors. How do we compensate her? Am I right that she has to be considered "hourly"? And how do we compensate for the overnight and travel time? —K.H., Kansas

Beware time clock ’rounding’ errors; push for an upgrade

02/01/2005
Issue: The legal and financial hazards of an improperly programmed time clock.
Risk: Thousands in back pay and government penalties, in addition to unwanted publicity.
Action: Audit your timekeeping …