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Payroll

DOL audits: What to expect when you’re expecting one

07/07/2014
Wage-and-hour investigations have become more complex, according to Corey Walton, a community outreach and resource planning specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division. His best advice: Stay in touch with your investigator.

Act this month to dodge penalties for W-2 problems

07/03/2014
Procrastinators beware: Aug. 1 is rapidly approaching. That’s when penalties more than triple, from $30 to $100 per form, up to $1.5 million, for these W-2 indiscretions: failing to file 2013 W-2s in the first place or filing incorrect 2013 W-2s that you haven’t yet corrected.

July 2014: Employer’s business tax calendar

06/30/2014
This is your monthly guide to critical payroll due dates.

How is responsibility for withholding apportioned?

06/27/2014
Q: What’s the employer’s liability if, due to a mistake in entering the number of withholding allowances from an employee’s W-4 form into the payroll system, less than the requested amount was withheld?

DOJ nixes sharing Form I-9 with outside vendors

06/26/2014
Sharing employee information among company departments, and even with outside vendors, usually makes life easier for you and your employees. However, in response to an inquiry, the DOJ concluded that an employer that sought to share ­employees’ Form I-9 or E-­Verify information with a paycard vendor may be violating the immigration laws.

Can temps clock in using the same procedures as our regular employees?

06/24/2014
Q. Our business has been booming and we are short-staffed. We have brought on a number of temporary workers from a staffing agency. Is it acceptable to have the temporary workers use the same punch clock system that our regular employees use?

Can California employees authorize payroll deductions to cover costs to their employers?

06/24/2014
Q. In California, are payroll deductions for expenses or debts incurred unrelated to the performance of job duties permissible if authorized in advance and in writing by employees?

Play-or-pay regs offer relief to new & growing employers

06/24/2014

Under the employer play-or-pay provisions of the ACA, employers of at least 50 full-time employees must offer them affordable group health benefits that provide minimum value and cover a menu of benefits or pay free-rider penalties. This can put new employers and employers on the cusp of employing 50 full-time employees in a bind, since any growth in their payrolls may put them unexpectedly in the cross hairs. The final ACA play-or-pay regulations provide relief to these employers.

OK to spread tax due on noncash award?

06/20/2014
Q: An employee will receive a noncash award worth $24,000. The federal income taxes owed will exceed the employee’s paycheck. Can the taxes be spread out over multiple pay periods?

Are business owners exempt from payroll taxes?

06/17/2014

Q: We process payroll for several companies. A new client says that company owners are exempt from all payroll taxes. Is there some law out there that we don’t know about?