Payroll

Give employees easy access to paystub info

12/16/2015

You must provide all employees easy access to their pay records. It’s not enough to tell workers they can log in from a computer at home or elsewhere. Give them a place at work where they can easily and quickly check their pay.

Tax season means ID theft; here’s how you can stop it

12/15/2015

The opening of tax season is a bonanza for identity thieves. The IRS and state tax agencies are determined to cut down on so-called stolen identity refund fraud, or SIRF for short. You can catch this wave, too, and help employees guard their personal identifying information.

3 states subject to FUTA credit reductions for 2015

12/14/2015

Three states are on the 2015 FUTA credit reduction hit list.

SSA and DOL adopt administrative garnishments

12/10/2015

If an employee owes a nontax debt to the federal government, the creditor agency may issue an administrative garnishment to you to collect the debt. The Social Security Administration and the Department of Labor are the latest agencies to use administrative garnishments.

Winter turns up heat on pay compliance

12/09/2015

The Fair Labor Standards Act is generally a fairly straightforward law—for most of the year. But winter weather—and the delays and closures that sometimes accompany it—can make wage-and-hour compliance more difficult.

IRS Releases 2016 Notice 1036

12/08/2015

The IRS has released the 2016 Notice 1036, which contains the official 2016 withholding allowance amounts, the amount to add to nonresident alien employees’ wages for calculating their income tax withholding and the percentage method withholding tables.

Pennsylvania bill would allow paying staff via debit cards

12/01/2015

A proposal by Pennsylvania State Sen. Don White, chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee, would allow employers to pay employees with debit cards rather than paychecks. The legislation would require granting employees free access to all of their wages.

New California state law allows employers to fix wage statement errors

11/23/2015

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law an amendment to the California Private Attorney General Act to allow employers the right to “cure” certain wage statement defects. Here are the details.

Defrauded payroll clients out $28 million

11/21/2015

The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down an appeal brought by the trustee of a bankrupt payroll service bureau who sought the return of $28 million, which the service bureau collected from its clients as payroll deposits, but which its principals stole. These clients now have no recovery and may have to pay the IRS again for the taxes the service bureau should have deposited.

ACA transition relief ending for midsize employers

11/18/2015

Employers with more than 50, but fewer than 100, full-time employees during 2014 didn’t have to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s play-or-pay provisions this year, although they must still file Forms 1095-C and 1094-C. This transition relief ends Dec. 31, 2015. Beginning with the 2016 plan year (next month for calendar year plans), these employers are fully covered under the law. Ensure that these critical actions have been taken before the end of the month. If you’re missing an action item, do it now.