Vision Payroll

Vision Payroll is proud to announce the availability of our updated file transfer site. Here employers, employees, vendors, and third-parties can upload and download files from a secure site without the security risks associated with e-mail. And since many e-mail providers place limits as low as 10 MB on file transfers, larger files are often blocked. At the Vision Payroll file transfer site, files up to 2 GB can be uploaded or downloaded without worry. If Vision Payroll has a file for you to download, an e-mail will be sent to you to notify you that the file is ready. To upload a file to us, simply go to our file transfer site and select “Upload a file without logging in” or sign in with your user name and password. We protect your files with multiple levels of leading edge security. The data center is protected from intrusion by sophisticated security systems. Layers of security devices, software, and data encryption protect the network and servers. On the web, where your files travel, protection takes the form of the highest form of SSL data encryption. Logins are encrypted and passwords are not stored in a cookie on your browser. Cookies that store marketing or tracking information are NOT used on this site. Contact Vision Payroll today with questions on our updated file transfer site.

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) recently released updated Standard Industry Fare Level (SIFL) rates which are used to value employee personal use of company aircraft. The revised rates are 24.84¢ per mile for 500 or fewer miles traveled, 18.94¢ per mile for greater than 500 miles traveled and up to 1,500 miles traveled, and 18.21¢ per mile for greater than 1,500 miles traveled. The terminal charge is $45.41. These rates apply to the period from January 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on SIFL changes.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-2. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL concluded that an employer “may require exempt employees to use accrued vacation time during a plant shutdown of less than a workweek without violating the salary basis test and thereby affecting their exempt status” under the FLSA.

There is no requirement under the FLSA to provide vacation to employees. Employers may require employees to use vacation time or leave time “whether for a full or partial day’s absence, provided the employees receive in payment an amount equal to their guaranteed salary.” Therefore, so long as the employees receive their guaranteed salary there is no impact on their exempt status. Exempt employees without available time for vacation or leave must still receive their full salary “for any absence(s) occasioned by the employer or the operating requirements of the business.”

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-1. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL concluded that employee attendance at State mandated training programs by child care center workers does not result in hours worked under the FLSA. The DOL lists four criteria that must be met for the time not to be counted as hours worked:

1. Attendance is outside of the employee’s regular working hours;
2. Attendance is in fact voluntary;
3. The course, lecture, or meeting is not directly related to the employee’s job; and
4. The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance.

In this case, the employer offered the training courses after-hours, thereby meeting criterion 1. Employees could choose to attend or not, thus meeting criterion 2. The training qualifies under an exception for criterion 3 that states that “where the training is for the benefit of the employee and corresponds to courses offered by independent bona fide institutions of learning,” the training is not considered directly related to the employee’s job. As long as employees do not perform productive work during the training, criterion 4 would be met.

The DOL concludes that such training does not qualify as hours worked under the FLSA unless the State does not require the employer to provide the training.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

This week’s question comes from Jerri, an HR director. I know federal income tax withholding is supposed to change because of the new tax law. Do employees need to file a new Form W-4? Answer: Employees are not required to file a revised Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate or its Spanish equivalent, Formulario W-4(SP), Certificado de Exención de la Retención del Empleado to see the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided new tax tables in Publication 15-T that adjust withholding for most workers. Employers must begin using the tables no later than April 1, 2009.

Workers may file a new Form W-4 or Formulario W-4(SP) if they do not wish to have their withholding reduced. Employees may wish to review Publication 919, How Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding or use the IRS withholding calculator. The IRS also recommends that employers provide a copy of the notice on page 73 of Publication 15-T to employees to help them understand the changes.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have further questions on the impact of ARRA on federal income tax withholding.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending March 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 654,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 645,000. The 4-week moving average was 650,000, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 643,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.0% for the week ending February 28, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.8%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 28 was 5,317,000, an increase of 193,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 5,124,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,139,750, an increase of 124,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 5,015,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 4.533 million.

Need to learn more about the changes in COBRA changes mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but unable to attend next week’s seminar presented by Vision Payroll. Take the next best step by reviewing this month’s featured article by the HR Pros at MyHRSupportCenter, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and New COBRA Changes.

This month’s article highlights the changes required by the law, reviews some key provisions, and sets an action plan with recommended next steps. One of those steps is to review The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and the Impact on COBRA Guide (the Guide) also produced by the HR Pros at MyHRSupportCenter. The Guide contains more comprehensive information on the changes and series of FAQs to guide you in implementing the required changes. The Guide can be found by searching “arra” from the Essentials, Guides page.

There are still a few seats available for next week’s COBRA seminar presented by John P. McMorrow, Esq. of Mirick O’Connell and the staff of Vision Payroll. Contact Vision Payroll today to reserve your seat.

To learn more, sign into MyHRSupportCenter and read this month’s featured article. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

The US Department of Labor recently issued non-Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-14NA. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Unlike signed Opinion Letters, unsigned Opinion Letters do not “provide a potential good faith reliance defense for violations of the FLSA.”

This Opinion Letter discusses three points:

1. The restrictions an employer can impose during an on-call period.
2. Whether an employer is responsible for compensation when restrictions are imposed.
3. If the number of call-backs is a factor in determining if the on-call period is compensable.

Compensation for on-call periods is a question of facts and circumstances particular to each case. Generally, however, on-call time is compensable “when the on-call conditions are so restrictive or the calls so frequent that the employee cannot effectively use that time for personal purposes.” Carrying a pager or being required to report to work within a specified time period are usually not restrictions that require compensation.

The number of call-backs is a factor in determining if the on-call period is compensable. One court ruled that four or five calls per week was not enough to require compensation, while another court ruled an average of three to five calls in a twenty-four hour period was enough to require compensation for the on-call period.

Since the only restrictions that the employer in this case imposed were that the “employee must be reachable at all times, abstain from alcohol or other substances, and report to work within one hour of notification” and because call-backs were rare, the restrictions did not require compensation during the on-call period under the FLSA.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

Please join us on Thursday, March 19, 2009 for a seminar on changes mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These changes affect virtually every employer in Massachusetts and many others nationwide. Attorney John P. McMorrow of Mirick O’Connell will talk on What Employers Need to Know about the New COBRA Rules. Employees of Vision Payroll will then discuss how the COBRA change will be handled mechanically as well as other changes in the payroll and HR area required by the Act.

There is no charge for this seminar, but advanced registration is required. Space is limited so registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Date:  March 19, 2009

Time:  Registration starts at 8 am, presentation starts at 8:30 am

Place: Woodblock Building Conference Room, 14 Monument Square, Leominster

Free parking is available in the lot behind the building. Entry is in back. Refreshments will be served.

We expect the seminar to run 1½ to 2 hours, but Vision Payroll employees will stay longer to answer questions as necessary.

RSVP to Vision Payroll.

In a response to Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL), the Internal Revenue Service, in Information Letter 2009-0012, explains why employees who terminate employment are not entitled to receive any remaining balance in their transit reimbursement accounts.

Employees may voluntarily elect under §132 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC) to contribute a portion of their earnings to transit reimbursement accounts. Employees are technically not purchasing the benefit themselves, since doing so would require them to receive taxable compensation. The legal form of the transaction is that the employees are given a choice between cash compensation and the benefit provided by the employer. Once employees elect to have the benefit provided by their employers, employees are “no longer entitled to receive that compensation.” If the employees could choose to receive cash compensation, the entire value of the fringe benefit and cash compensation received would be taxable. Since employees forfeit their right to receive cash compensation when electing the fringe benefit, unused balances at termination of employment are funds of the employer, not the employee.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on qualified transportation fringe benefits under IRC §132.