• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Payroll

Final regs clarify excepted benefits for ACA purposes

12/04/2014

So-called excepted benefits—limited-scope dental and vision benefits—are exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s requirements to provide affordable group coverage that provides minimum value. Final ACA regulations modify those benefits, and add long-term care benefits and certain employee assistance plans into the excepted benefits category.

December 2014: Employer’s business tax calendar

11/28/2014
This is your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

The ‘Ghosts of W-2s Past’ need haunt you no longer

11/27/2014

It’s officially Payroll crunch time. The Social Security Administration is cracking down on employers that submit W-2/W-3 forms with errors … but you already have everything organized and ready to go, right?

If employees are absent the day before or after a holiday, can we withhold their pay?

11/26/2014
Q. Our employee handbook states that if employees are sick before and after a holiday and they do not get a doctor’s note, they will not get paid for those missed days. Is this legal?

Another chore? Early W-2s and verification of FICA taxes paid

11/26/2014
Q: A terminating employee is requesting an early W-2. He’s also requesting that Payroll provide him with written verification that he hit the 2014 Social Security taxable wage base, even though his W-2 clearly shows this in Box 3. He insists that he doesn’t need to restart paying Social Security taxes with his new employer, since he maxed out for 2014. Is he correct?

DOL takes action on two minimum wage issues

11/24/2014
The Department of Labor (DOL) is closing out the year with a bang. It’s issued final regulations increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for employees who work on new or renewed federal contracts and has postponed enforcement action on its final regulations governing home care ­workers.

Slip sliding away: How to handle weather-related absences

11/22/2014
Absences occasioned by bad weather can clash with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Here are the five key rules you need to know to make this winter (or any season) run smoothly.

State-by-state chart on 2014 W-2 mag media/e-filing requirements

11/21/2014
States have their own W-2 e-filing thresholds and specifications. This chart summarizes those requirements.

Take credit for your health benefit contributions

11/21/2014
If you’re shopping around for group health benefits on the SHOP, don’t forget to factor in the value of the small business health care credit when evaluating the cost of a group policy.

Payroll 2015: What you need to know now

11/20/2014
Increases to the personal exemption amount, which doubles as the annual withholding allowance amount, are based on increases to the August Consumer Price Index. Here are the crucial payroll figures you need now.