California Payroll Report articles from July 2006

California Payroll Report archives from July 2006

New interim rule on electronic I-9 is in effect.
July 21, 2006... The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an interim rule amending the regulations on Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Form. The new rule [BICE 2345-05; DHS 2005-0046] is effective June 15, 2006, and implements...

Safe harbors set for recipients of DHS and SSA "no-match" letters.
July 21, 2006... In an effort to ease employers' burden of worksite enforcement (while still ensuring compliance), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed amendments to the regulations relating to the unlawful hiring or continued employment of...

IRS issues guidance on disaster-related leave-sharing plans.
July 21, 2006... Last year's hurricane season, and the prolonged recovery period, brought heightened interest in "leavesharing" plans as a way for employers to help their employees affected by the storms. Employer-sponsored plans set up to aid employees who...

DHS regs spell out standards for electronic I-9s.(Department of Homeland Security)(I-9 forms)
July 21, 2006... As reported on page 1, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has amended its regulations to establish standards for electronic generation, signing, and storage of I-9 forms. The good news is that the DHS says "As far as [we] can...

Clean-up compliance.(Payroll News and Views)(Brief article)
July 21, 2006... Several months ago, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) established a Gulf Coast Task Force and dispatched additional investigators to the region hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to provide increased enforcement support...

Urban renewal credit.(Payroll News and Views)
July 21, 2006... New legislation effective July 1, 2006 (H.F. 2731) created a withholding credit for targeted jobs as part of an urban renewal initiative in Iowa. Border cities that are designated as a pilot project city (applications are due by October 1,...

Fuel and fringes.(payroll news and views)(Brief article)
July 21, 2006... With prices steadily rising for the better part of a year now, the cost of gasoline is certainly not "news." But here are two new angles worth noting: The Center for American Progress is citing high gas prices as a reason the federal...

State tax cut.(Payroll News and Views)
July 21, 2006... Last month, the Omnibus Tax Relief Act (HB 2876) was signed into law by the governor of Arizona. The new legislation reduces the state's personal income tax rates by 10% over a two-year period. Pre-Act rates ranged from 2.87% of taxable...

Pay violations.(Payroll News and Views)
July 21, 2006... Sterling Jewelers, Inc. (which does business under 14 retail names nationwide), has agreed to pay $1.29 million in back wages to nearly 17,000 workers in 41 states. After discovering two types of pay violations, Sterling notified the...

Employers must take care when classifying workers as independent contractors.
July 21, 2006... It has come to the attention of the IRS that the series of natural disasters over the last several months have triggered a spike in the number of independent contractors hired to help businesses with clean-up and construction or meet an...

Fluctuating workweek salary should not be docked for absences.
July 21, 2006... The fluctuating workweek method of pay can be advantageous to both employer and employee. (Under this method, which must be agreed to by both parties, the employee is paid a fixed salary for all hours worked in a week, whether he or she...

You can outsource duties, but not responsibility.
July 21, 2006... Harry Truman had a sign on his desk in the Oval Office that said "The buck stops here." That sentiment applies to the responsibilities of payroll managers as well. Even if you have an outside payroll service provider, you (on behalf of your...

New online locator helps workers get back wages.
July 21, 2006... One of the more positive aspects of the compliance efforts of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is the recovery of back wages for workers who were underpaid due to intentional or innocent violations of the Fair Labor...

Last chance for 2005 W-2s.
July 7, 2006... The focus on Form W-2 deadlines tends to be on file first quarter: all forms to employees/payees by January 31; paper forms to the SSA by February 28; electronic files to the SSA by March 31. But there's one more important W-2 deadline coming...

Is there new hope for telecommuting?
July 7, 2006... In these times of skyrocketing gasoline costs, you would think that telecommuting would be experiencing a commensurate rise in popularity. The practice of allowing employees to work from their homes for part or most of their workweek arrived...

IRS proposes new "family-friendly" dependent care reimbursement rules.
July 7, 2006... The IRS has proposed regulations that are intended to clarify and replace existing provisions concerning dependent care expenses necessary for gainful employment. The new rules [REG-13059-02] specifically address the types of expenses that...

Recordbreaking return marks e-filing milestone.
July 7, 2006... If you've been having a hard time convincing upper management (or yourself) of the efficiency and safety of filing employment tax forms and information returns electronically, consider this: Last month, the IRS announced that General Electric...

Outside sales exemption provides for incidental in-house activities.
July 7, 2006... The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) carves out five categories of employees that qualify as exempt from the law's minimum wage and overtime premium pay provisions: executives, administrative employees, professionals, computer...

Any suggestions?(Payroll News and Views)
July 7, 2006... In your last issue, we reported that the National Taxpayer Advocate pointed to complexity of the tax laws as the major impediment to compliance. As it turns out, the IRS has a special branch devoted to finding ways to reduce "taxpayer burden"...

Jury duty.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Labor laws regarding employee leave for jury duty have been amended in Indiana. Effective July 1, 2006, employers may not take any adverse employment action when an employee is called for jury duty if the employee notifies his or her employer...

Emergency services leave.(Payroll News and Views)
July 7, 2006... One of the positive results in the aftermath of last year's horrific hurricane season is that employers have become more accommodating to "first responders" and emergency services personnel. And some states are formalizing job protections by...

Military leave.(Payroll News and Views)(Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... In our discussions of the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA; see your January 21 and June 21, 2006, issues), we've noted that many states have enacted complementary provisions. Here's a case in point:...

SSNs excised.(Payroll News and Views)(Social Security numbers)(steps to protect employees)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... In light of the widespread risk of identity theft, Maryland has joined the ranks of states (including California) that have taken steps to protect employees. Maryland employers, public and private, may no longer include employees' Social...

Hourly totals.(Payroll News and Views)(minimum wage workers)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released data from a nationwide survey that offers a snapshot of minimum wage workers. According to the BLS, in 2005 nearly 75.6 million workers in the U.S. (or 60.1% of all workers) were paid at...

How to manage a one-person payroll department.
July 7, 2006... If you work for a smaller company or organization, you might find yourself handling the payroll function all by yourself--not only the management part but every aspect of the payroll function. This situation can leave you feeling a little bit...

Exempt employees can't be charged for lost or damaged equipment.
July 7, 2006... In the not-so-distant past, exempt employees who needed to access files, contact clients, prepare reports, or schedule meetings had to work from within the confines of their cubicle or office. But now, with cell phones, personal digital...

Employees contest low wages with charges of racketeering.
July 7, 2006... A recent change of heart by the U.S. Supreme Court could open a Pandora's Box of class-action suits. After hearing oral arguments in Mohawk Industries v. Williams (No. 05-465), the Court decided to not decide the case--and sent it back to the...