Vision Payroll

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending September 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 455,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 445,000. The 4-week moving average was 445,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 440,000.

The Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration recently announced a new website to provide information on how a Health Savings Account (HSA) can help businesses meet their employees’ health insurance needs. The new website gives an overview of HSAs, their advantages and disadvantages, a FAQ section, a comparison among different types of plans, and resources for more information. It will also be updated on a regular basis with news and official information concerning HSAs. President Bush recently participated in a roundtable discussion on HSAs with small business leaders in Oklahoma City. Vision Payroll can work with you and your benefits broker to determine if an HSA is right for you and, if so, to ensure that your HSA is properly established. Vision Payroll will also ensure that your deductions are properly calculated and reported for federal and state tax purposes. Don’t wait to be the last business on your block with an HSA—contact Vision Payroll today to get started.

Please be advised that the Online Employer section of our website will be unavailable Friday, September 19 from 8:00 pm EDT until noon on Saturday, September 20.

This extended downtime is a result of our move to Switch and Data, our new colocation facility and implementation of Cogent as our bandwidth provider.

Switch and Data provides five times the bandwidth and a more secure facility with multiple redundancy of power. Additionally, Switch and Data’s commitment to quality is evident in the uncompromising standards built into the infrastructure of their facilities. Features such as robust UPS power and generator backup, a climate-controlled environment, fire protection, 24×7 secure access and remote monitoring is the solid foundation of this commitment.

Cogent is a leading supplier of High Performance Bandwidth supported by world-class customer support ranging from 1.5 Mbps to 10,000 Mbps. Cogent’s multinational, independent IP backbone is the perfect vehicle for metropolitan, national, and global point-to-point services. Available in speeds of 100 Mbps to full GigE, Cogent helps build custom connections according to specific configuration needs.

Governor David Paterson recently signed the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) into law. The law (Labor Law Article 25-A) is patterned after, but more stringent than, the federal WARN act. Effective February 1, 2009, private employers with fifty or more employees must provide written notice ninety days before any plant closing or mass layoff. The notice must be given to affected employees and their union representatives, the New York State Department of Labor, and the local workforce investment board. Companies that violate the Act subject themselves to suits for back pay and benefits as well as civil penalties of up to $500 per day. Due to inconsistencies with the federal WARN act and questions about some requirements of and definitions in the act, covered employers should consult their legal counsel before layoffs of any size.

In late June, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the eligibility criteria listed in the state law were not exclusive. Therefore, if applicants for unemployment benefits had other good reasons to quit their jobs, it was within the discretion of the Employment Security Department (ESD) to approve such applicants for benefits. In response the ESD has issued an emergency rule, under which applicants who quit due to work-related conditions might still be eligible for unemployment benefits. This “allows Employment Security to begin reviewing all voluntary-quit decisions that are not yet final. These include decisions still in process at Employment Security or under appeal at the Office of Administrative Hearing or at the Commissioner’s Review Office.” Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on this emergency ruling by the Washington ESD.

The General Services Administration updated the maximum per diem rates for travel after September 30, 2008 and before October 1, 2009. For destinations or counties not specifically listed, the lodging per diem is $70 and the meals and incidental expenses per diem is $39. Certain destinations or counties are listed with higher per diem rates for part or all the fiscal year. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on maximum per diem rates.

This week’s question comes from Harold, a business owner. I own a business in Massachusetts. Can I switch from a weekly to a bi-weekly pay period? Answer: Under Massachusetts law it is allowable to change to a bi-weekly pay period as long as employees are provided with written notice. MGL c. 149, §148 requires written notice to each employee at least ninety days in advance of the first bi-weekly check. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions on pay frequency changes.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending September 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 445,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 451,000. The 4-week moving average was 440,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week’s revised average of 439,750.

Do you reimburse employees for travel and meal expenses? Reduce paperwork and substantiation requirements through the use of a per diem reimbursement. By using a per diem that does not exceed the applicable federal per diem rate for the area of travel, the amount of the expenses need not be substantiated although the employee must still substantiate time, place, and business purpose. There are two parts to the per diem allowance: the lodging portion and the meals and incidental expenses portion. Employees who incur expenses less than the per diem allowance are not required to return the excess amounts. Furthermore, ten percent or more owners and their relatives are ineligible to use the per diem method. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions on per diem reimbursements.

The Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled in Necanicum Investment Co. v. Employment Department, SC S055231, July 24, 2008, that directors’ fees paid to a company’s board of directors are not wages for unemployment tax purposes, since the “directors are not ‘employed by’ the corporation in the same sense as other persons who perform ‘service for an employer * * * for remuneration.’” The court noted that under Oregon law, shareholders elect the directors and “there is no employer-employee relationship between a corporation and its directors when the directors are performing the duties imposed on them by statute.” Since no employment relationship exists, payments to directors could not be considered wages for this purpose.