When scheduling workers for shifts, there are plenty of tricky legal areas, such as accommodating religious beliefs. Many state and local laws now require predictive scheduling for employees in certain industries and positions. Under these laws, employers can't change workers' shifts at the last minute without paying them for their time, sometimes at a premium. [...]
In two recent cases, employers were fined for violating minimum wage laws related to uniforms. Denny's in Houston was fined under the Fair Labor Standards Act for deducting the cost of workers' uniforms, since those deductions caused their pay to fall below minimum wage. In violation of New York state labor law, Eulen America, an [...]
Employers may want to evaluate their paid leave policies for workers who serve in the military after the outcomes of two recent court cases. Two different service members sued their employers when they weren't paid for absences related to military service, but other employees received paid leave for various reasons. In each case, a district [...]
You can expect to have more Social Security tax withheld in 2022. The estimated 2022 number is $146,700, an increase from the current taxable wage base of $142,800. The final number is due in October. At the 6.2% rate, the maximum employees and employers would each need to pay in Social Security tax next year [...]
We carefully curate articles of interest to small businesses and share them every weekday on Facebook. Here are some examples of recent topics: Can you require employees to be vaccinated? Can you fire employees who are not vaccinated?How to retain employees with the "great resignation"Is your business taking over your life?Effective and creative ways to [...]
Federal Tax Credits for COVID Have Ended The Federal program that enabled employers to take a tax credit for paying employees who were absent for COVID-related reasons ended on September 30. There is no more so-called "COVID pay" as we have processed for many of our clients for the last year and a half. COVID [...]
Your company may or may not have celebrated Juneteenth this year, but now that it's a federal holiday, it'll likely impact your payroll process going forward. President Biden signed legislation on June 17, 2021, making Juneteenth (June 19) a legal public holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. Here's what that means [...]
Servant's Quest in Oliver Springs TN, a home health care business, paid $358,675 in back wages to 50 workers. They were found in violation of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Servant's Quest misclassified caregivers as independent contractors and paid them straight-time rates for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Lawsuit claimed worker was "pressured" to make donations Charitable deductions straight from paychecks can be a great way for employees to easily donate to valuable causes. But just as with other wage deductions, the rules must be followed when Payroll sets them up. One employer did everything right with its voluntary payroll deductions for an [...]
Worker claimed employer's violations were "willful" When an employee's job responsibilities shift, perhaps as part of a company reorganization, it's important to ask: Does that person's exemt or nonexempt status in the payroll system need to change? One New York company had to defend itself in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit because a [...]
