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Compensation & Benefits

$36,500 excise tax per employee! What’s that all about?

12/12/2014

The IRS made quite a splash when it concluded in an Affordable Care Act FAQ that all employers, regardless of size, that didn’t have a group health plan, and that instead reimbursed employees for their costs to buy health insurance either on or off the individual health exchange, would be liable for $36,500 in self-assessed excise taxes. We’ve taken some time to sort this all out.

It’s time to tell a new story about voluntary benefits

12/10/2014

The Affordable Care Act has precipitated a new appreciation for voluntary benefits. A well-designed package of them will be essential for recruiting and retaining top talent.

Worksheet for 2014 Forms W-3/941

12/10/2014
Use this worksheet to reconcile your four quarterly 941s and W-2s, so the amounts you report to the SSA and the IRS match.

W-2s this year: What a difference a day makes

12/09/2014
You have an extra weekend to ensure that employees’ W-2s are correct. Since Jan. 31 is a Saturday, employees must receive their W-2s by Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. The IRS must receive your fourth-quarter Form 941, and annual Forms 940, 944 and 945 by that date, too. Here’s what you need to do now.

SSNVS monkey wrench: No more SSN printouts

12/09/2014
A best practice is to verify all employees’ names/Social Security numbers  by using the Social Security Admin­­is­­tra­­tion’s Social Secu­­rity Number Verification Ser­­vice.

How should we pay nonexempt telecommuter?

12/08/2014
Q. I recently allowed one of my hourly employees to telecommute full time. What actions must I take to ensure proper payment of her wages?

Can we make worker pay for broken merchandise?

12/08/2014
Q. One of our employees dropped a case of expensive merchandise while stocking the shelves of our store. It caused a loss of several hundred dollars. Can we deduct the cost of the merchandise from his paycheck?

Contractor can’t plaster over pay violations

12/08/2014
A plastering company in Ceres, California has agreed to patch things up with 208 current and former employees following a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation. The employees of Ace Commercial Plastering will receive $131,953 in back pay, the amount WHD concluded the company had sanded off their paychecks.

Let it snow! But make sure you know how to pay employees

12/08/2014
Parts of New York were inundated with feet of snow well before Thanksgiving. Buffalo businesses have dug out from under the lake effect by now, but they may still be dealing with lingering pay issues. Will you be similarly affected—and are your pay policies ready?

Exotic dancers win millions–and could take home even more

12/08/2014
Dancers at Rick’s Cabaret, a strip club in Midtown Manhattan, just collected more than $10 million following a federal court ruling, and could make even more if an ongoing lawsuit continues to go their way.