Payroll News
Most Web-based news organizations do not keep their
articles available forever. If you click on a link (particularly for
articles further down this page) and it doesn't work, then it isn't there
anymore. Also, you may need to register for certain free sites, like the
Chicago Tribune and New York Times. And some sites are NOT free,
like the Wall Street Journal.
7/12/04
Two day seminar schedule posted.
6/5/04
Wal-Mart answers critics with
changes on 2 levels
They're making some changes in how they handle employee treatment, including
wage-hour issues. New
York Times
5/15/04
New Overtime Changes Spark Confusion
I saw this one coming. Sure they've changed the Federal regulations, but
states can be more generous. So that creates even more confusion. A
short but pointed article. Yahoo
Paid family leave law requires little from employers
Well not really. When you consider the hassles, the notification
requirements, and the increased potential for wrongful termination suits. Yahoo
5/5/04
Telecommuter From Tennessee Found Subject to New York Tax
In what sounds like an unreasonable
ruling from a tax hungry New York, if you telecommute to NY from someplace like
TN, you get to pay NY income tax. Yahoo
The New OT rules (editorial
comment)
Politicians are using this as a political opportunity and complaining about
the new rules. Frankly, from some of the comments I've seen from our
elected officials, I don't think they actually have read the new rules, or have
chosen to ignore them in favor of just having something to hold a news
conference about. If you want to read more about this, check out this Google
news search page.
4/20/04
Revised Overtime Rules
They're out. Here is the DOL's
Web site on this (and the regulations)
and here are a couple of articles. Washington
Post Yahoo
DOL press
release There are lots of stories to read about at Google
4/19/04
French Study Suggests Changes to Work Week
Hmmm. Evidently the 35 hour workweek isn't working as hoped? Yahoo
Workers' comp bill offers hope
Arnold has rammed through a WC reform package that is supposed to cut costs in
California and improve protection for employees. LA
Times
4/13/04
Museum hit with overtime lawsuit
They outsourced the food service and the new vendor didn't want to give
additional hours to the food service staff to avoid paying overtime. The
staff was surprised by that because they never received OT when they worked for
the museum. Oops. Chicago
Tribune Crains
UPI
4/9/04
Filers seeking tax help from IRS often get bad advice, audit finds
Some pretty frightening statistics. Makes you want to hire a really good
CPA or lawyer. Knight
Ridder
Ill. Gov. Defies Federal Overtime Rules
This is going to be the problem with the new Federal OT rules - states can and
will override them. The rules haven't even been issued yet (as of today),
and Illinois went ahead and overrode them. Hmmm Yahoo
Altering of Worker Time Cards Spurs Growing Number of Suits
Lots of retailers are doing it. Just goes to show that employees should
probably keep track of their hours. Because your employer may be doing a
REALLY bad job. New
York Times
3/28/04
A and P to Pay $240K for Alleged Child-Labor Violations
Grocery stores have to be careful who they have operating balers, slicers and
elevators. blr.com
New employer must be careful about labor laws
The two mentioned in this article, incorrect classification of exempt employees
and contractors are worth noting. Corvallis
Gazette-Times
3/6/04
Contractors carry heavy burden
A nice recap of the why employers like to have contractors, even though they're
probably really employees. Miami
Herald
History lesson about overtime
A very short lesson giving some background on the Fair Labor Standards Act. Idaho
Statesman
3/1/04
For Wage Law, Mixed Prospects in the Legislature
New York is considering raising the state minimum wage to $7.10. New
York Times
2/26/04
4 food firms to pay $82,500 in back wages
Some small firms fail to pay overtime properly. What's interesting here is
that various agencies went door to door in this area trying to educate workers
and employers about the law. Chicago
Tribune
San Francisco Minimum Wage
It's now 8.50 in San Francisco. This isn't a living wage law, this is a
minimum wage law that applies to almost all businesses in the city. Los
Angeles Times
2/24/04
New seminar
schedule published
1/30/04
Vicarious Joint Liability
This article, written by a law firm, discusses how an employer might be held
liable for the wage-hour violations of it's subcontractors. The
gist? Setting up sub-contractors to avoid your employer responsibilities
ain't gonna work. Proskauer
Rose
1/27/04
Federal jury convicts tax
protester
He was an employer who refused,
despite the frequently given advice of employees and his CPA, to withhold taxes
from his employees' paychecks. He apparently used all of the typical
arguments, which are constantly shown to be invalid. Oh, and he's from
Texas and believes federal laws aren't valid there. DOJ
press release
1/26/04
Wal-Mart's Damage Control
Interesting info on Wal-Mart's efforts to deal with the legal problems they're
having. This article focuses particularly on the immigration
investigation.Washington
Post Speaking of Wal-Mart, here's a short story from Florida on
working time problems for the company. Chicago
Tribune And here's another one about an internal audit at Wal-Mart Yahoo
MSNBC
Personal use of corporate jets
flies on IRS radar
Bugged by your executives' use of the jet? Who isn't? Here's an
educational article on the tax issues involved. Chicago Tribune
Chao refuses to delay new
overtime rules
It looks like 3/31 is the date for the new OT regulations. Washington
Post USA
Today DOL
press release
Wet Seal Settles Store Managers' Suit Concerning Overtime
That old problem of store managers in California costs the retailer $1.3
million. LA
Times
1/6/04
From Paycheck to Plastic
This is a very good article on payroll cards. It discusses the
financial benefits to companies like UPS and Amazon.com and it also discusses
consumer advocates concerns about the lack of regulation. Washington
Post
US limits truckers time on the
road
Overtime rules don't apply to employees covered by DOT regulations because
those regulations work to limit working time, which is the point of the FLSA.
This article is an excellent discussion of recent changes and just that impact
on the hours worked of truckers. USA
Today
The state of taxes
States are working on getting more tax revenues, particularly from out of
state workers via payroll withholding for the work they do in the state, and
from people who purchase products from out of state and avoid paying sales/use
tax. CBS
Marketwatch
1/2/04
Labor Dept. Plans To End Overtime Controversy in March
A recap of the issues relating to the new regulations. Not much new
information, other than the DOL is apparently considering some fine-tuning to
reflect the concerns that were raised in 2003. Washington
Post Chicago
Tribune (same article)
IRS Taking a Look at Executives' Pay
Wonder what the IRS is looking (payroll-wise)? This article will tell
you. LA
Times
State minimum wage becomes the
nation's highest
Live in Washington? Your minimum wage is now 7.16 / hour The Olympian
12/15/03
We've updated our IRS
page with new links for the latest Circular E (Pub 15) and Pub 15B, 1099, W-4
and W-2
11/28/03
We've updated the California,
Nevada, Oregon
and Washington
link pages.
9/10/03
The Senate passes a bill to prevent
the DOL's proposed changes to OT. But the house didn't pass such a bill,
and the President has threatened to veto. So... Washington
Post.
If you'd like to stay up-to-date on
this overtime battle, you can review recent Google
and Yahoo
news on the subject.
We've updated the New
Jersey, New York and Ohio
state payroll information pages.
9/9/03
We've updated the Florida,
Georgia and Michigan
state payroll information pages,
9/5/03
Suit alleges United refused to pay overtime
HR assistant alleges she was forced
to work more than 40 hours per week and was not paid OT. Not a very long
story. But it bears watching since United is BIG. Chicago
Tribune
9/4/03
We've updated the California,
Texas
and Arizona
state payroll information pages.
See all of
our state pages
Audit finds IRS often gets it wrong
This study discusses how bad the IRS
gets it. What's interesting (and frightening) is that the IRS hopes to get
80% of the answers right this year. 80 percent? Chicago
Sun-Times
8/27
Blagojevich signs bill raising minimum wage
Illinois joins the ranks of
states with higher-than-Federal minimum wages. It'll go up to 5.50
on 1/1/04 and then 6.50 on 1/1/05. While this may not be interesting
to those of you in Maryland or New Mexico, the article is actually very
good in describing the impact of these largely politically motivated
minimum wage changes. Chicago
Sun-Times
8/19/03
Identity thieves target workplace
Some hints to make sure your
files aren't the reason your employees have their identities stolen. Des
Moines Register
7/22/03
U.S. Sues 3 Businesses That Refuse to Withhold Taxes
They're claiming that they
don't have to. Typical tax protesters. The IRS is getting
serious. New
York Times.
7/10/03
House Backs Bush on New Overtime Rules
Congress was looking at preventing
the DOL from implementing their revised regulations. Bush threatened to
veto and the house backed down. This OT thing is getting to be the story
of the year. Gosh, maybe I should set up a separate Web site! Yahoo
(which will expire fast), Washington
Post, New
York Times
Abercrombie & Fitch Faces Suit Over OT
The company is accused of
giving someone the title of manager (but not the duties), to avoid paying
OT. Miami
Herald
6/30/03
Thousands balk at overtime revamp
There has been a lot of news in the last couple of days
regarding this topic. Businesses are saying that better rules are
necessary, but employee groups say millions will lose OT. Chicago
Tribune ABC
Newsday
(a very good write up)
6/19/03
Employers banking on clearer overtime rules
An overview of the proposed changes in the Federal OT
regulations. The perspective is on how this will help employers better
understand the criteria, even though it may still be unfair to employees. Chicago
Tribune
6/10/03
Wal-Mart Is Subject of State Labor Probe
Essentially their being audited by California. No
complaint filed, just a review. LA
Times In a related story, the CEO has announced that Wal-Mart managers
had better start following policies about treating employees fairly. FindLaw
6/6/03
Rules for overtime may change
This is a pretty good article recapping the recent efforts
by the DOL to redefine what makes someone exempt, as well as efforts by
Congress to expand compensating time off. The article also recaps
some recent court decisions. Philadelphia
Inquirer
6/5/03
House GOP Pull Overtime Bill Off Schedule
More on the proposal to allow comp time in the private
sector. Unions are fighting this because, with Republicans in
charge, there is a stronger potential for passage than in previous
attempts. Findlaw
5/28/03
Early release of new tax tables
IRS publication 1036 gives you a heads up on the new
percentage method withholding tables for the tax cut. IRS
5/27/03
State Workers Have Right To Family Leave, Court Says
States have long claimed immunity from lawsuits to enforce
Federal law. And Nevada claimed immunity from an employee's suit
regarding FMLA. Nevada lost. What this means is that state
employees have the right to sue if the state doesn't meet the FMLA. Wall
Street Journal Yahoo1
Yahoo2
USA
Today
5/24/03
Tax protester goes to jail
Here are a couple of stories about a tax protester that's
going to jail for a couple of years. He allegedly didn't file tax
returns, used bogus returns for getting bank loans, and filed fraudulent
information with his employer. Yahoo
(which will expire soon), Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette.
The Tax Cut
Here's a nice recap of the tax cut. Expect to see
something from the IRS in a few weeks. USA
Today
5/14/03
N.Y. City Council Mulls 'Nanny's Rights' Bill
Nannies must be told their rights to minimum wage, OT and
Social Security. Families have to acknowledge that they are aware of
those rights. The rest of the article discusses the plight of
nannies in New York and whether this law will accomplish anything. Washington
Post
4/15/03
Caste Adrift at Microsoft
One of the common stories in discussions of worker
classification is the Microsoft "permatemp" case. It also
factors into discussions of independent contractors. This article
goes into the situation from the perspective of the contractors and temps
who are being treated as a different "caste" of worker in an
attempt to not corrupt their status as temps and contractors. This
is a good study for those of you who rely on contingent workers and want
to see what you need to do to avoid getting in trouble with your
contractors. Computer
Source
House Committee Approves Comp Time Bill
Don't get excited - it's just passed a committee
hurtle. The idea is to allow workers in the private sector to take
comp time instead of getting paid OT. There will be catches, like
payment at the end of the year, and a maximum accumulation of 160
hours. Democrats and Labor are fighting it claiming it will lead to
more abusive OT and selective granting of overtime work based on who is
willing to take comp time. But trust me, this has a long way to go
yet. FindLaw
Indianapolis
Star CBS
Marketwatch
3/30/03
DOL Offers Modernization of OT Regs
They're billing this as a boon to low paid employees who
have been classified as exempt, and a clarification of the rules.
Maybe it helps the low paid employees, but overall it allows businesses
much more flexibility in classifying many more people as exempt. The
net, I believe, is that while more low paid people will be classified as
non-exempt, more highly paid people will be classified as exempt.
The rules raise the salary test to $425 per week (big deal - a rompin'
stompin' $22,100 per year) and expands the definitions of administrative,
professional and outside sales. These proposed changes have been published
and the DOL welcomes comment. You can read the press
release, an overview,
and a
pretty good detailed discussion of the current rules and the new ones.
All of this comes from the DOL web site
There are also some news reports as well. Washington
Post Pioneer
Press
3/6/03
Illinois governor pushes for minimum wage hike
He wants it to go to $6.50 per hour. Naturally,
business interests are against it. Chicago
Tribune
1/23/03
Employment records prove ripe source for identity theft
You've got to be more careful about payroll records.
The article details how employees are having their identities stolen
because of the wrong employees (and temps) accessing payroll
records. USA
Today
The Downside of Family Leave: Getting Fired While You're Out
This article addresses the problem of employers who, while
nominally complying with FMLA, are actually finding more creative ways of
punishing employees who take advantage of their rights. Wall
Street Journal (requires paid subscription)
1/13/03
High court case tests limits of family leave act
States must abide by FMLA too and if they don't, they owe
monetary penalities. However, Nevada and other states say that this
is an infringement on state sovereignty. The Supreme Court will
decide. USA
Today, Chicago
Sun-Times
1/9/03
Employers seek change in comp-time rules
They're at it again! Every year, this topic comes
up, but with Republicans in charge, it just might happen - or at least it
has a shot. The article goes into the rationales that business is
using, and the reasons why unions are against it. The concepts
revolve around comp time and changing the basis for OT to 80 hours over 2
weeks as opposed to 40 hours over one week. Chicago
Tribune
1/8/03
How Bush economic plan would affect you
While we don't know what the final version is going to
look like, here's a nice recap of George's proposed tax cuts. Think
a reduction in withholding due to a cut in the brackets - also,
elimination of the "marriage" penalty, no taxes on dividends,
and a bigger credit for kids. Chicago
Tribune
1/7/03
$4.1M Settlement
OK'd in Overtime Pay Litigation
This is a BIG one. The $4.1 million will be split
among 83 employees with one person getting $193,936. The problem is
that the company allegedly docked exempt employees for partial days.
Law.com
Wal-Mart
Overtime Verdict Part of Growing Trend
A review of the
reasons why Wal-Mart allegedly has the OT problems - a company culture
that discourages asking to be paid for OT. But that isn't the
point. If an employee works, even if the company didn't ask them to
work, it still counts towards OT. Law.com
1/6/03
New employment laws give workers a boost
This article reviews some of the major (but not all)
changes in California law employment last year. If you don't have
operations in California, you can relax. But if you do...reading
this article is just the start. Sacramento
Bee
Employers: New year means new laws
California is, without question, a much different state
when it comes to employment law. And some recent changes go into
effect on January 1. Only one change, mentioned at the end of the
story, is related to payroll...COBRA. In California, according to
the story, the employee gets an extra 18 months on top of Federal
protection. The
Desert Sun
Minimum wage to rise
Guess which states have the highest minimum wages in the
country. Washington ($7.01) and Alaska ($7.15). The
Seattle Times
Forced arbitration closing court doors to employees
The article reports on how some employers are going to
forced arbitration of employee complaints, and how these programs seem to
discourage employee actions. The cases involve EEO issues, and
nothing is mentioned of Wage-Hour complaints, but it's still worthwhile
reading. Houston
Chronicle
U.S. Jury Cites Unpaid Work at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart loses a lawsuit in Oregon for allegedly requiring
employees to work off the clock. New
York Times
Performance bonuses supplanting holiday pay
More employees are getting bonuses whereas their normal
earnings are stable or actually reducing. A good example of why we
have to worry about regular rate of pay. Boston
Globe
Few workers opt to catch up on 401(k)
Article describes the general lack of participation by workers in the
catch-up provisions of George's tax cut. USA
Today.
Professor's Bid to Upset Tax Policy
Fails
This involves New York's unusual approach to taxing out of state
workers who telecommute for their own convenience as opposed to the
workers. Law.com
$11.2 million verdict against Mary Kay Inc. Top-flight saleswoman
She was sick, she got fired. She sued for wrongful termination.
So what has this got to do with payroll? Mary Kay's defense was that she
was a contractor and not able to sue for wrongful termination. The court
said she could - . Based on the story, we personally would argue that she
wasn't a contractor. San
Francisco Chronicle Law.com
also has the same story with a slightly different spin indicating that she
was ruled to be an employee - NOT a contractor.
Wal-Mart on trial in labor lawsuit
This article covers a suit that is coming to trial in Oregon and 39
other class action suits in 30 other states. Recent settlements
include New Mexico and one in Colorado covering 69,000 workers for
$50,000,000. Stateman
Journal
DOL: Adjusters not Eligible for Overtime Pay
The DOL has issued an opinion letter saying the insurance adjusters are
exempt under the administrative employee category. This was
requested by the insurance industry after lots of lawsuits have erupted
based on a judgment against Farmer's Insurance in California. Law.com
Justice Told to Pay Overtime to Lawyers
While not related to FLSA, the Justice Department has to deal with the
"Federal Employees Pay Act." And apparently, it owes millions to
its lawyers because it had a "standing order" requiring them to work
overtime, and it tracked their time. Lawyers getting overtime? What
is this world coming to? Washington
Post, Law.com
Employees are working more than 40-hour weeks
A survey by a calendar publisher found that employees are putting in 46
hours a week. It also mentioned that many find their most productive
time to be before the official start of the day. I hope they're
getting paid overtime. Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
Worker sues Intel over 'exempt' classification
Another lawsuit in California. Not much details in the story, but
it talks about these things becoming common there because of the more
generous interpretations of CA law as well as the ability to get suits
certified as class actions. Sacramento
Bee
Claims Workers Buy Into OT Suit
Progressive claims representatives get their Federal suit certified as
a class action suite. The issue is the classification of these
workers as exempt. And it's not in California! The article has
a couple of errors in it, but it also reviews some other recent suits. FindLaw
Bouncing paychecks blindside some workers
Recounts some short stories about employees who had bounced checks. USA
Today
A Busy Week for the U.S. in Its Pursuit of Tax Rebels
The IRS and the Justice Department are getting wacky on tax
protestors. New
York Times
UPS settles supervisors' lawsuit for $18 million
Part-time managers who were allegedly mis-classified as exempt win
their battle in California. See
the San Diego Union-Tribune
Congress Fails to Act on Minimum-Wage
It'll be 5.15 for a while. ABC
News and Yahoo
News (will expire from Yahoo in a few weeks)
IRS issues new per diem rates
The rates go up. See
the ePayXpress article.
Social Security Base for 2003 announced
It's a nice round number of $87,000 as opposed to $84,900 for this last
year. There are also some changes regarding benefits issues as
well. Read the SSA's
fact sheet and the press
release (warning - amazingly, they're both Word files).
Workers tire of extra hours, no pay
This is a recap of overtime problems companies and employees are
having. This article also mentions the commitment from the DOL to
revise the criteria for exempt employees to simplify it. Chicago
Tribune
Prison Terms for Underreporting Tips
In a rare move, casino workers in Nevada get tossed in jail for not
reporting all of their tip income. LA
Times.
Contractor Is to Pay $75,000 Owed 18 Immigrant Laborers
Contractor fails to pay prevailing wage required on public works
projects in New York. The interesting thing is that the only reason
this came to light is because the contractor failed to pay the wages
due. Oops. One problem can really open up a can of
worms. New
York Times
14 O'Hare plumbers accused of time-keeping scam since
'99
Every once in a while, the employees are doing it wrong,
allegedly. These plumbers were accused of time theft at O'Hare
airport. Chicago
Tribune
Colorado-Based Einstein Brothers Bagels Agrees to Pay $495,930 in Back
Overtime Wages to Employees in 27 States
Another fast food chain misclassifies their management workers...in
this case, 424 assistant managers who really weren't exempt. Read
the press
release on the DOL's web site.
Houston businessman charged with firing employee over jury duty
Ya see, you're supposed to let them take off for jury duty in most
state. But it appears to be more complicated. Read the Houston
Chronicle article.
Calif. Adopts Family Leave
OK, it's official - California now mandates paid FMLA. This Washington
Post story is a pretty good summary of the basic rules, and the problems, as
well as when it goes into effect. Yahoo
has another story, which will expire in a few weeks. The USA
Today also has an article.
Korean Grocers Agree to Double Pay and Improve Workplace Conditions
Major overtime problems at green grocers in NYC. See The
New York Times article. If you've ever wandered why these
violations happen and why it takes so long to get problems rectified, the
article might be illuminating.
Waiters Celebrate a Judge's Decision on Tips
If you pool tips, it all must go back to the employees if the employer
is going to use the tip credit rule. This restaurant didn't do that
and got busted. See The
New York Times article.
Mileage reimbursement rate goes down in 2003
In a release
just out from the IRS, the rate goes from 36.5 cents in 2002 to 36
cents in 2003. Watch your copy of Circular E for
confirmation.
Proxy SSNs Can Cause Headaches Down the Road
This article
on ePay Xpress (APA's email newsletter) discusses the problems that
payroll can run into when you have a new, legal immigrant that doesn't
have a Social Security Number yet. And you kinda need one to pay
them.
The IRS is getting meaner
The current climate of higher deficits and corporate shenanigans has
lead to a recent move by the IRS to get tougher. They're going to
focus on unreported income, offshore havens, and tax scams - like people
claiming they don't have to pay taxes. One interesting stat - $207
billion. That's the amount of unpaid taxes every year. Several
articles discuss this including one from The
Christian Science Monitor, The New
York Times, and Yahoo.
Few workers invoke US family-leave law
This is an interesting article
in Christian Science Monitor on current usage of FMLA (not much because of
job pressures and loss of income). It also provides a recap of the
reasons people take FMLA and current efforts to make it PAID time off (not
likely except in, you guessed it, California).
NWA overtime riles attendants
This Detroit
Free Press article is a good example of how overtime is intended to
create jobs. The unions are upset because employees are working
overtime while there are laid off employees waiting to be called back to
work.
Suit Claims Pep Boys Cheated on OT
Another company is accused of shaving working hours on the electronic
time clock, and forcing employees to work off the clock. This Yahoo
story link won't last for long so don't be surprised if this link
doesn't work.
IRS Confirms Plan to Assess Name/SSN Mismatch Penalties on 2002 W-2s
This article
discusses the plans to begin fines for employers who were getting
nasty-grams. From the APA's ePayExpress.
A Dubious Fringe Benefit
This CBS
MarketWatch report (free registration required) discusses Internet
based HR services. The article discusses the lack of usage, as well
as the usability of the existing systems.
Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock
A New York
Times article on problems that Wal-Mart is facing. It's an interesting
case study.
Supreme Court to Decide Reach of Family Leave Law
An ABC
News article regarding whether or not FMLA can apply to state governments.
High Court Backs IRS on Income from Tips
This article
from the Washington Post is a nice summary of the decision regarding restaurants
being required to estimate tips for paying employment taxes.
DOL posts special section on child labor
If you have questions in this area, you might want to check it out. The
link is to the
employer section, but there are also sections for teens, parents and
educators.
Californian tax protester jailed
This mope seems to think tax laws are a hoax. Hope he enjoys jail
food...sounds like he'll be there for a little while. This article
is in the New York Times.
SSA online verification of numbers
This question came up recently in one of our seminars. Currently, most
of us can only use one of the established
methods of verifying SS numbers. However, there is a pilot
program going on. The comment from a participant is that they were
able to access the page based on an inquiry from the SSA. Not much info is
available on the Web site. Nice to know they're thinking about this
though.
Overtime Becomes Class-Action Fodder
Interesting article
in the New York times regarding the increased number of lawsuits filed by
managers who really weren't managers. They had the title, but didn't do
manager type stuff.
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