Garnishing an employee's wages can be inconvenient, but there is little you can do about it. When one of your employees fails to pay a debt or owes the government money, a court may issue an order to withhold income, which means your company takes money from the employee's paycheck and forwards it to the [...]
One of the biggest changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is the permanent installation of a flat 21% federal income tax rate for C corporations for tax years beginning after 2017. The new 21% rate applies equally to personal service corporations (PSCs). (Under prior law, PSCs were taxed more heavily than other [...]
Association health plans (AHPs) are health benefit policies made available to small employers through a group purchasing arrangement for the benefit of association members and their employees. Under the old rules, AHP availability was limited to tightly linked employers (such as parent-child companies). Under new regulations issued by the Department of Labor on June 19, [...]
Change is part of life. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has brought sweeping changes to the federal income tax rules for individuals. But how will you and your family be affected? That depends on your specific circumstances. Major life changes — from marriage and birth to divorce and death — can provide opportunities [...]
Let's say an employee comes into your company's payroll office complaining that she just received a letter from the IRS. Her tax refund has been held up due to a discrepancy with her Social Security number (SSN). Another employee then complains that his tax return was kicked back to him because the IRS says the [...]
Thousands of cases are appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court every year, but usually fewer than 100 get a full-blown hearing and ruling. One case that made it through in the current court term is Encino Motorcars v. Navarro. On the surface, this case looks at whether car dealer service advisors are exempt or nonexempt. [...]
How is withholding affected by the TCJA? The amount you elected to have withheld on your Form W-4 under the previous tax law might need to be revised under the new law. If you withhold too much, you're effectively giving the IRS an interest-free loan to use your money until it's refunded after you file [...]
If your company sends its employees off for education, training, counseling or psychological testing on their own time, you may have to pay them. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires employers to pay non-exempt employees for all the hours they work. (On the other hand, exempt employees are generally salaried staff members compensated [...]
Often companies decide to conduct formal employee surveys when leaders "begin to feel that things have turned slowly south," or when a crisis hits, says Tom Agnew, co-author of a book titled "The Enemy of Engagement, Put an End to Workplace Frustration — and Get the Most from Your Employees." Why wait? The purpose of polling [...]
When an employee leaves your company, the complicated issue of the final paycheck arises. And how your company handles the check depends on state and federal laws, which can make it difficult for businesses operating in more than one state to come up with a uniform nationwide policy. State laws generally determine the timing of [...]
