What to watch for on nonimmigrant’s I-9 paperwork Heads up! Be sure you’re taking an extra-close look at workers’ Form I-9 documentation. In a recent release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) warned employers to watch for issues with work eligibility for certain types of nonimmigrants. Nonimmigrants can be eligible to work in this country [...]
New option for offering workers tax-free benefits A new final rule from the Trump administration will give employers more options for providing nontaxable health benefits to their employees. The rule allows employees to use funds from a new individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) to purchase third-party healthcare coverage. HRA advantages Allowing employers to use [...]
Restaurant docked exempt workers’ pay, lands in hot water: Here’s why Franchise paid nearly $80K in back wages and damages Payroll pros must proceed with caution when handling deductions from workers’ pay, especially if they’re classified as exempt. If deductions aren’t handled properly, employers may end up on the hook for thousands in back wages [...]
IRS releases draft instructions for 2020 withholding On the heels of the first draft version of the 202 Form W-4 comes a brand-new draft of the form’s updated withholding tables. The IRS just released an early draft of Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, with the info Payroll needs to accurately withhold taxes next [...]
IRS’ new Form W-4 revealed: What Payroll should do next A section-by-section look of anticipated 2020 form The wait is over: The IRS has just released its first draft of the revamped Form W-4 for 2020 and, as expected, it’s much more detailed than past versions of the form. The new form takes all the [...]
Thrift store chain didn’t pay workers for short breaks & OT owed $114K When brief rest periods are considered compensable. It’s important to pay employees correctly for all hours that count as time worked, including compensable break time. After a Dept. of Labor (DOL) investigation, one branch of a national thrift store chain came under [...]
Can Employees take paid leave, then FMLA leave? DOL says… Latest guidance for Payroll on tricky situation Consider this scenario: An employee who’s thinking medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) starts making paid-time-off requests to use up all his time before going on leave. This worker doesn’t want his certification for [...]
Record retention for Payroll: What’s required under federal, state regs Company disposed of workers’ old timecards too quickly Recordkeeping guidelines are just as important to the Dept. of Labor (DOL) as other wage and hour rules, especially when looking at timecards and other payroll records. If employers don’t keep accurate records of hours worked for [...]
This week, the Massachusetts Legislature and the Baker-Polito Administration enacted legislation to delay the start of employer and employee contributions to the Paid Family and Medical Leave program (PFML) by three months to October 1, 2019. This delay will allow employers across the Commonwealth more time to prepare their organizations and workforces for PFML. Please [...]
Company required employees to volunteer, owes $59K in back wages Why charitable work turned into compensable time Some companies may encourage workers to volunteer their time to charitable causes. But when volunteering becomes mandatory, it can cause issues if workers aren’t paid. One employer wasn’t compliant with the law’s guidelines on volunteering, and it paid [...]
