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Payroll

ACA affordability safe harbors set for 2020 plan year

09/24/2018
For the 2020 plan year, group health plans are affordable if employees’ monthly premiums don’t exceed 9.78% of your chosen safe harbor.

Special analysis: Hot job market + cool fringes = Payroll headaches

09/24/2018
The unemployment rate hasn’t been this low in more than 50 years. So HR is tasked with coming up with fringe benefits that will incentivize new hires to sign on and entice current employees to stay. Too bad they didn’t consult you first.

SSA reinstates employer no-match letters

09/24/2018
The Social Security Administration is again sending no-match letters, called Educational Correspondence Announcements, to employers that file W-2s on which employees’ names and Social Security numbers don’t match its records. Warning: W-2s with these mismatches may also garner penalties from the IRS.

Fright night for your year-end processes

09/24/2018
There will be no skeletons jumping out of closets or floating pumpkins glaring at you if you take care of these early year-end tasks now.

Accurate pay statements: your responsibility

08/27/2018
It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure employees receive accurate wage statements with each paycheck. That’s true even if the employee hasn’t provided an accurate accounting of time worked.

Employee gets to prove OT claim, employer’s willfulness

08/16/2018
“I didn’t know an employee worked overtime” won’t get you far if a manager flouts the overtime rules, a federal trial court has held. Worse: The court is letting a jury decide whether the employer acted willfully when it failed to pay overtime to the employee.

How to successfully navigate payroll overpayments

08/16/2018
Recouping overpayments from employees can be a good experience, but often isn’t. Here’s some guidance from Barbara Youngman and LaTisha O’Neal to attendees at the American Payroll Association’s 36 Annual Congress in May.

Supreme Court: Public sector workers can’t be forced to pay union fees

06/27/2018
Expect the decision to substantially weaken public-sector unions—which traditionally support Democratic candidates—as this ruling likely means the unions will likely see a large drop in funding.

Fix it fast: How to handle an uncashed paycheck

05/17/2018
Your options: You can either void uncashed checks or hold them open on your books. Hiccup: Banks generally won’t honor checks that are older than six months, so your employees won’t be happy either.

Start planning now to stay ahead of tricky summer pay issues

04/19/2018
Before getting lost in daydreams about the lazy days of summer, start working with your colleagues in the payroll department to anticipate some of the headaches that accompany holidays and vacation time off.