New and Newsworthy

The Social Security Administration and the IRS have issued a joint publication that offers valuable pointers for employers who want to clean up their old payroll files. In most (but not all) cases, that means following a four-year retention rule. The publication cautions that failure to meet record retention requirements can result in sizable penalties and large settlement awards for employers that are unable to provide the required [...]

If you have an employee who has unfulfilled child support obligations, you might be contacted by authorities. In these cases, a local court or government agency may send you an order to withhold a portion of wages from the employee, to collect back child support. Complying with these orders is only required with workers who are employees. If you're treating someone who performs work for you as an [...]

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently finished several investigations aimed at employers. The agency announced that seven different employers had violated federal laws involving minimum wages, overtime calculations, family and medical leave, the tip credit and work visas. Here are brief descriptions of the cases. 1. Minimum wage violations. A Tennessee motel company owes $58,894 in back wages to four employees for minimum [...]

If your organization wants to claim the new family and medical leave credit, take note: The IRS has issued Form 8994, Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave, for use in 2018 and 2019 tax year filings. In addition, the IRS has posted new information about the credit on its website. Here's what you need to know. Credit Basics The leave credit was authorized by 2017's Tax [...]

Today (and since 2004) salaried employees who earn at least $455 per week aren't eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, if their job duties are executive, administrative or professional (EAP) in nature. That's true no matter how many hours these employees work in a week. Under proposed regulations, the limit would rise to $679 in 2020. So, salaried employees earning up to around $35,308 [...]

Increasing numbers of National Guard and Reserve personnel have been sent to far-flung places around the globe in recent years. If your staff includes reservists and National Guard members who must interrupt their employment to fulfill their military service, you probably know that the law requires you to reinstate them once they returned from service (with certain specific exceptions). But you may not be aware of your obligations regarding [...]