California Payroll Report articles from May 2006

California Payroll Report archives from May 2006

Must you pay interns?
May 21, 2006... Each year, colleges and universities across the country team up with businesses to integrate a summer or semester of work experience with academic studies. Such internships have sprung up in a variety of industries, for a variety of...

Is it time to rethink the standard mileage rate?
May 21, 2006... As we went to press, President Bush had just announced that he was ordering investigations into gasoline price-fixing and was temporarily suspending environmental regulations that require the use of certain fuel additives. Industry experts...

Twice as nice: employee discounts may be excluded from income.
May 21, 2006... Employee discount. Those two words put a twinkle in the eye of every teenager looking for an after-school or summer job. But while these discounts are a proven "carrot" for younger applicants, they are also an economical perk or fringe...

Commission conditions and calculations affect employee's exempt status.
May 21, 2006... The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides for a special exemption from overtime pay requirements for retail sales and service establishment employees whose pay includes commissions. The exemption can help employers save on labor costs, but...

Why you need to be concerned about the immigration bills.
May 21, 2006... If an immigration bill is passed, how will it affect you in Payroll? Linda Dodd-Major, Esq., a former Employer Liaison at the Immigration and Naturalization Service and currently Director, Balance Consulting LLC, recently addressed this...

Direct deposit benefits employers of all sizes.
May 21, 2006... More than 80% of large businesses (500 or more employees) now offer direct deposit to their workforce. But companies of any size can benefit from the cost savings (see below) and increased operational efficiencies resulting from the switch...

States raise rates.(Payroll News and Views)(minimum wage increases)(Brief article)
May 21, 2006... States raise rates. While federal legislators continue to talk about increasing the minimum wage, two more state legislatures are taking action. Effective October 1, the minimum wage in Arkansas will jump to $6.25 an hour. (The state's rate...

Correction for Michigan minimum wage.(Payroll News and Views)(Correction notice)
May 21, 2006... Correction for Michigan minimum wage. The minimum wage will increase to $6.95 an hour in Michigan effective October 1, 2006. We incorrectly reported this amount as $6.75 in our May 7 issue. We apologize for the typo.

SS-4 online.(Payroll News and Views)
May 21, 2006... SS-4 online. We mentioned in our February 7, 2006, issue that the IRS was in the process of revising Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. In Box 13 of the revised form, employers must indicate whether they expect to have...

Massachusetts mandate.(Payroll News and Views)(health insurance legislation)(Brief article)
May 21, 2006... Massachusetts mandate. Health savings accounts (HSAs) have enjoyed unprecedented support and promotion from the IRS and the Administration. (In fact, President Bush has personally stumped for HSAs, visiting several cities across the country...

Living wages.(Payroll News and Views)
May 21, 2006... Living wages. The District of Columbia is joining the more than 120 cities nationwide that have "living wage" laws on the books. Mayor Anthony Williams has signed the Way to Work Amendment Act, which requires employers that receive economic...

Price of security.(Payroll News and Views)
May 21, 2006... Price of security. The Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit to recover more than $7.1 million in back wages for 7,171 employees of a St. Louis-based contractor. The lawsuit is a result of an investigation into violations of the federal...

Are students' wages tax exempt?
May 21, 2006... If you have student interns on your payroll, they may assume that as short-term, part-time workers they are exempt from withholding. Remind interns (and employees) that to qualify for the withholding exemption, they must meet all three of...

Plan now to be prepared in case of disaster.
May 21, 2006... June 1 is the official start of the 2006 hurricane season--and the National Weather Service is predicting a season severe enough to rival last year's. Will your payroll department be ready if disaster strikes? Don't think it can't happen...

New hope for federal minimum wage hike?
May 7, 2006... Last November we reported that Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and George Miller (D-Calif.), were temporarily backing down from their fight to increase the federal minimum wage. But recent comments by Cabinet members such as Treasury...

Pump up direct deposit program participation.
May 7, 2006... As most payroll managers can attest, direct deposit can make life easier for employees and for Payroll. If you have a direct deposit program in place, you're probably on the lookout for ways to increase participation. And if you're about to...

Summer help triggers special wage-hour issues.(Legislation)
May 7, 2006... Summertime is just around the corner, and young people will soon be looking for employment. While in general there are no restrictions on work hours or occupations for employees age 18 or older, there's a litany of compliance concerns when...

At-home English lessons are not compensable training time.
May 7, 2006... Time spent in on-the-job training counts as work time. That's a no-brainer. But what about training after normal working hours? And what if employees attend extra training progams voluntarily? In a recently released Opinion Letter, the...

Three-step increase.(Payroll News and Views)(minimum wage law)(Brief article)
May 7, 2006... West Virginia is joining the ranks of states that have set their minimum hourly wage rate higher than the federal minimum of $5.15. Governor Joe Manchin III has signed legislation initiating annual increases in the state's minimum wage rate...

Compliance costs.(Payroll News and Views)
May 7, 2006... According to a recent study by the Tax Foundation, complying with the federal income tax code during 2005 cost U.S. taxpayers $265.1 billion. "That's about 22 cents in overhead costs for every dollar of income tax collected," reports Scott...

Ohio alignment.(Payroll News and Views)(minimum wage bill)(Brief article)
May 7, 2006... With the signing of state Senate Bill 7, Ohio Governor Bob Taft has authorized an increase in the state's basic minimum wage so that it will match the current federal rate of $5.15 an hour. The new law requires every employer, including those...

Rules challenged.(Payroll News and Views)
May 7, 2006... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has joined several safety groups in a lawsuit challenging the new hours-of-service rules for commercial drivers that went into effect last fall. (The new rules allow drivers to work longer shifts,...

Special delivery.(Payroll News and Views)
May 7, 2006... The Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) have settled a decade-long dispute involving employees of USPS contractors. Nearly 900 pilots, co-pilots, and flight engineers will be receiving their share of more than $6.5...

Final update?(per diem rates)(Brief article)
May 7, 2006... The General Services Administration (GSA) has revised the per diem rates for certain cities and counties in eight states. (The IRS approves the GSA's standard CONUS rates for use by employers in providing tax-free reimbursement of employees'...

Bipartisan pay raise.(Payroll News and Views)
May 7, 2006... Like the federal government, Michigan has not raised its minimum wage since 1997. But Governor Jennifer Granholm recently signed a three-step minimum wage increase for the state. Granholm (a Democrat) had pledged a wage hike "one way or...

Payroll cards: good for employees, good for your company.
May 7, 2006... If your company has not yet implemented a payroll card system, you are missing out on some enormous benefits in terms of improved efficiency and cost savings, says Sam Austin, CPP, director of Operations at U-Haul International (Phoenix,...

Employee's choice of extreme commute does not warrant tax-free travel reimbursements.
May 7, 2006... In general, when employees travel away from home on business, the costs associated with the trip (travel, meals, and lodging) are considered deductible business expenses. As such, employer payments or reimbursements for these expenses are not...

GSA revises per diem rates for 12 sites in 8 States.(business travel)(Table)
May 7, 2006... GSA Revises Per Diem Rates for 12 Sites in 8 States Listed below are the latest per diem rate revisions from the General Services Administration (GSA). The revised rates are effective for lodging and meals and incidental expenses...