Employer-based health insurance costs have increased modestly since 2012 — between 3% and 5% annually for family coverage, according to a 2020 report by Kaiser Family Foundation. These changes have added up over the past decade, and employers and employees are now paying 155% of the health care costs they were paying before, even as wages have stagnated.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
Paperless payroll is a paper-free payroll process that has become hugely popular in recent years. But despite the groundswell of support for paperless payroll solutions, employers should examine the details before making the switch.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
In May 2021, the Department of Labor withdrew the “Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” final rule. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, "The DOL has traditionally analyzed a number of factors to consider whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee and looked at 'the totality of the circumstances.' The withdrawn rule would have applied a more-limited economic-reality test."
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
Payroll is a mission-critical function — one that must be done even amid disasters or emergencies, such as:
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
As COVID-19 vaccines become available, employers may require vaccines before employees return to the worksite if the employer believes that failure to be vaccinated constitutes a direct threat to other employees. With the virus still rampant, it's easily transmitted.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
If your remote employees live in the state where your business is located, you must follow federal employment laws plus your state's employment rules. But if your remote employees live in a different state from where you conduct business, you must comply with federal employment laws plus the labor laws for each state in which your employees reside. This applies to all areas of employment, including hiring, performance management, payroll, and employee benefits.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
The IRS has provided guidance to employers regarding the recent presidential action to allow employers to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of certain payroll tax obligations.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
Local income taxes are imposed by local governments, such as cities, counties, or school districts. They are used to fund various locally provided services, such as schools, parks, social services, law enforcement, transportation, and community-improvement programs.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
Until recently, employers in only a handful of industries had to provide significant reporting on COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. But as of May 26, new Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines require a much wider range of employers to determine whether employees caught the coronavirus at work or while performing work-related activities. If so, managers must record the illness on OSHA Form 300.
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
No, there is no universal lifting of restrictions, but the CDC is looking forward to a time when every business can slowly start reopening. As the CDC explains: "It's important to continue to follow federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local guidance for reopening America." Its extensive guidance includes the need to develop a reopening plan:
Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits
