Payroll

Welcome to our three-hurricane Friday wrap

08/20/2021

Let’s talk FIRE system improvements, new employer guidance from OSHA, new per diem rates and more.

Do your obligations follow digital nomads?

06/17/2021

Many employees who worked remotely through the pandemic will soon begin returning to work in person this fall. Before then, however, many of your pandemic teleworkers are likely planning to hit the road this summer—and taking their laptops with them as they can continue to work remotely from some location away from home. Here’s what to consider before giving them the green light.

Friday wrap: Child tax credit, new collection procedure, IRS webinars and more

06/11/2021

Here’s our first, official June Friday wrap. Read it and then go to the beach.

Consider paying back employees’ PPE costs

06/10/2021

Responding to the coronavirus pandemic added unexpected line items to many employers’ budgets. But what about expenses employees incurred? If you required employees to wear masks, face shields or other personal protective equipment, you should consider reimbursing them.

Monday mashup: Draft Form 941, Biden budget and other good stuff

06/07/2021

It’s an old government trick—dump stuff on a Friday afternoon, especially during the summer (and most especially during this summer), when our attention is elsewhere. Mondays, of course, are the day we sort it out.

Consider new perk: Student-loan repayment

05/27/2021

A little-known provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, signed last December, lets employers offer student-loan repayment as a benefit. This may help attract job applicants who see the value of paying down their student debt.

Afraid you’ll miss payroll? Here’s what to do

05/27/2021

Failing to pay employees what you owe them, on time, is certain to cause legal trouble. Not only do many states have strict rules about when employers must pay wages due, the U.S. Department of Labor aggressively goes after employers that don’t pay workers on time.

Ongoing telework brings legal complexities

05/20/2021

Remote work is likely to continue long after the coronavirus crisis subsides. As you contemplate what post-pandemic work will look like, it’s important to recognize the complications inherent to permanent telework arrangements. Factor them into your decision making when setting new policies on remote work and hiring.

Employee vs. independent contractor dispute heads to the Supreme Court

04/26/2021

Uber hasn’t had much luck in the employee classification department. Sure, it scored big in California, when it underwrote a ballot initiative to overturn A.B. 5, which would have classified its workers as employees. But it lost big in London and then capitulated, reclassifying its workers as employees. It struck out again in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, and now it’s appealing this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tax credit will reimburse for paid leave to receive vaccine

04/22/2021

The credit, announced April 21, will be paid for using funds set aside in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan stimulus legislation passed in March.