Vision Payroll

On July 13, 2008, a new law went into effect mandating treble damages for wage and hour violations by Massachusetts employers. Prior to passage of Chapter 80 of the Acts of 2008, triple damages were allowed, but treated as discretionary by state judges. Generally, employers who acted in good faith were not assessed treble damages under the old law. Now, employers’ intent is irrelevant and three times the lost wages or other benefits will be awarded on all wage and hour lawsuits where the plaintiff prevails. Employers will also be required to pay “the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys’ fees.” We strongly recommend that all Massachusetts employers review their wage and hour policies and consult with their attorneys if they have any questions.

Would you like to improve cash flow, eliminate annoying workers’ compensation audits, and save money? Who wouldn’t? Ask today about pay-as-you-go workers’ comp setup in conjunction with our insurance partners. As payroll is prepared each week, your workers’ comp premium is also calculated. The premium is automatically debited from your account. There’s no huge down payment, no misclassified workers, and no huge audit bills to pay at the end of the policy period. With pay-as-you-go workers’ comp from Vision Payroll, workers’ comp is not such a chore now, is it?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a new online calculator that will provide immediate and personalized benefit estimates to help people plan for their retirement. According to the SSA, the calculator produces estimates that are based on your actual Social Security earnings record. You will need to provide your name, Social Security number, date and place of birth, and mother’s maiden name. You will be provided an estimated monthly benefit for an early retirement, full retirement, and a late retirement based on certain earnings assumptions.

Jerry and James Schram, brothers and business partners in Schram’s Excavating of Vancouver, WA agreed to pay $356,000 in back wages and unpaid workers’ compensation premiums. As part of a guilty plea, both brothers were given two years probation and 240 hours of community service. Jerry Schram will also serve 30 days in jail as part of the settlement. The back wages were to compensate employees who did not receive overtime pay even though they worked more than 40 hours a week. Schram’s Excavating pled guilty to hiding information used to set their workers’ comp premiums, which resulted in the company paying lower premiums.

Several states have minimum wage increases effective for work performed after July 23, 2008. Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Virginia all have increases to $6.55 to match the federal minimum wage. The District of Columbia minimum wage increases to $7.55. Different minimum wages may be paid to certain classes of employees in some situations. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on minimum wage law changes.

In TIR 08-8: Sales/Use Tax, Withholding and Administrative Changes Contained in Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2008, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) commented on the changes required by the new law. For withholding purposes, the law allows the DOR to require withholding by S corporations and entities treated as partnerships for tax purposes on distributions to shareholders or partners. In Proposed 830 CMR 62B.2.2: Pass-Through Entity Withholding, the DOR listed which entities would be required to withhold and which shareholders and partners would be exempt from withholding. It also addressed several administrative issues related to registration, payment, and reporting. TIR 08-8 confirmed that a final form of the proposed regulation will soon be promulgated effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2009. Vision Payroll is ready to help its clients deal with the changes required by this new law. Please call us for our recommendations for a smooth transition to the new withholding requirements.

This week’s question comes from Jasmine, a business owner: I’m on the road visiting clients and can’t always call my hours in during the day. I’m also out-of-town frequently. What’s the best way for me to submit my payroll information? Answer: Online Employer is the perfect solution for employers to submit and receive payroll information. All you need to do is log in to our secure website, submit hours and changes, and transmit your encrypted files. We’ll take care of the rest. You can log in to review your current and past payroll reports, create your own custom reports, and even calculate a manual check 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Get the information you need on your schedule—sign up for Online Employer today.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending July 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 366,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 348,000. The 4-week moving average was 376,500, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 381,000.

In Rev. Proc. 2008-25, the IRS provided a safe harbor method of accounting for accrual-basis taxpayers to use to account for FICA and FUTA taxes. It also established procedures for taxpayers to use to change their method of accounting to this safe harbor method. Under Rev. Proc. 2008-25, taxpayers who use the safe harbor method may deduct FUTA and the employer’s portion of FICA in the same year in which the all-events test has been met for the related compensation and the IRS will not challenge such use. This is true even if the amount of the tax liability is not fixed at the time of accrual of the compensation because, for example, the taxpayer does not know if a particular employee will have reached an applicable payroll tax ceiling when the liability is paid. Examples are provided in Rev. Proc. 2008-25 to further clarify the IRS position. Because the change in accounting method requires the filing of Form 3115, taxpayers are advised to consult their tax advisors for further information.

Do you wish you could be better organized? Do you wonder where you put that payroll report that you need? Is your filing cabinet overflowing? Do you worry about identity theft? Do you need to protect your sensitive payroll data from nosy employees? If you answered yes to any of these questions, ViewChoice is the answer for you. Don’t wait for payroll reports to arrive in the mail. Get access to your reports instantly as soon as your payroll is processed. Using encrypted files and proprietary viewing software, your reports can be made more secure from unauthorized access while reducing clutter and storage requirements. Print the reports that you need when you need them. Easily create Adobe pdf files of any report, check stub, or W-2. At year-end, you’ll automatically get a CD that contains all these reports and more. Simply give it to your CPA and eliminate those pesky payroll questions. All the answers are on your CD, saving time for both of you. And time is money. Sign up for ViewChoice today and be better organized tomorrow!