Vision Payroll

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in IR-2009-071 reminded consumers to be aware of identity theft scams that spoof the IRS name, logo, or Web site. The scammers may use e-mail, fax, or telephone for their schemes. The goal is obtaining personal or financial information such name, address, birth date, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers (SSNs), PINs, and passwords.

Some of the more common scams revolve around the following:

• Making Work Pay Refund
• Inherited Funds/Lottery Winnings/Cash Consignment
• Form W-8BEN
• Refund Scam

The IRS recommends knowing the following warning signs of a scam:

• Requests detailed or an unusual amount of personal and/or financial information, such as name, SSN, bank or credit card account numbers or security-related information, such as mother’s maiden name, either in the e-mail itself or on another site to which a link in the e-mail sends the recipient.
• Dangles bait to get the recipient to respond to the e-mail, such as mentioning a tax refund or offering to pay the recipient to participate in an IRS survey.
• Threatens a consequence for not responding to the e-mail, such as additional taxes or blocking access to the recipient’s funds.
• Gets the IRS or other federal agency names wrong.
• Uses incorrect grammar or odd phrasing (many of the e-mail scams originate overseas and are written by non-native English speakers).
• Uses a really long address in any link contained in the e-mail message or one that does not start with the actual IRS Web site address (http://www.irs.gov/). To see the actual link address, or url, move the mouse over the link included in the text of the e-mail.

If you are suspicious of any item you receive purporting to be from the IRS, remember that the IRS will never ask for personal or financial information in an e-mail and it does not send unsolicited e-mails. Never click on links or open attachments in such e-mails and contact the IRS at (800) 829-1040 if you receive one.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently launched Disability.gov, the federal government’s Web site for people with disabilities, their family members, veterans, caregivers, employers and others. According to the DOL, the new site features comprehensive information about disability-related programs and services, as well as social media tools to better serve the more than fifty million Americans with disabilities.

Disability.gov’s social media tools encourage interaction and feedback from visitors, and offer new ways to organize, share and receive information. Visitors can sign up for personalized news and updates, participate in online discussions and suggest resources for the site. New features include a Twitter feed, RSS feeds, a blog and social bookmarking. Additional social media tools will be added to the site in the months ahead.

The new site includes user-friendly ways to get answers to important questions on finding employment, job accommodations and other topics. The site is organized into ten subject areas: benefits, civil rights, community life, education, emergency preparedness, employment, health, housing, technology and transportation. By selecting a category, visitors are directed to useful information on federal and state government programs and services, news and events, grants and funding opportunities and more.

Disability.gov, an effort led by the DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), contains thousands of links to reliable, trusted information from numerous federal agency partners, as well as educational institutions, non-profit organizations and state and local governments. It is an important resource not only for Americans with disabilities, but also for the parents of children with disabilities, employers, workforce and human resource professionals, veterans, military families, caregivers and many others.

The federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25 on Friday, July 24, 2009. Therefore, all work performed after July 23, 2009 should be compensated at the higher rate. In addition, the minimum wage will also increase to $7.25 in the following areas: Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Also, the minimum wage in the District of Columbia will increase to $8.25. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the minimum wage increases.

Employers are often thrilled to have those employees who are always on time, never take a sick day, and never take a vacation. But are they model employees, necessary employees, or a stress case waiting to happen? Does returning to a desk-full of unfinished work worry them? Are they worried about losing work to a co-worker? Or in this time of layoffs are they worried about appearing to uncommitted to their work?

Learn the answers to these questions and also what you need to know about how local laws may impact your vacation policies in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. You’ll learn if you must offer vacation time and if you should offer vacation time. Learn if you can cap the employee’s balance at some pre-determined level, whether you can limit how much vacation is taken, or when it is taken. Learn what you need to know about forced vacation time and how it’s impacted by the employee’s exempt or non-exempt status.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

Many employers are tempted to use layoffs as a method for avoiding problem employees. By failing to follow proper procedures for disciplining and terminating problem employees, however, employers may create more problems in the long-run. Employers should remember these three important guidelines when planning layoffs:

1. Eliminate the Position
2. Select the Least Fit
3. Don’t Fill the Position

To learn more be sure to read this month’s featured article by the HR pros at MyHRSupportCenter, Lay Off Using Layoffs to Manage Poor Performing Employees. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

Employers in three states must pay higher minimum wages effective today. In Illinois, the minimum wage increases from $7.75 per hour to $8.00 per hour. In Kentucky, the minimum wage increases from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. In Nevada, the minimum wage increases from $6.85 per hour to $7.55 per hour; for employees with qualifying health benefits, the minimum wage increases from $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on minimum wages.

Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or ARRA, certain involuntarily terminated employees are eligible for employer-provided subsidies to help pay for their Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) continuation coverage. Employers may then claim a payroll tax credit on their Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, to be reimbursed for the assistance provided.

As the end of the second quarter nears, employers who are expecting to apply for a refund on their Form 941 should ensure that all amounts eligible for the credit have been reported to Vision Payroll so that we may reflect those amounts on the Form 941. Amounts reported after the Form 941 has been filed will need to be corrected through the use of Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund. Employers should also ensure that all required documentation is maintained.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any question on the premium reduction credit.

Most employers are familiar with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Because of the minimum employee levels, sporadic enforcement, and relatively mild penalties, many employers have not concerned themselves with it. Do you know what sets state laws in Michigan and Minnesota apart from other states? Do you know which states have recently enacted mini-WARN statutes? Do you know which state bills companies for re-employment assistance?

Learn the answers to these questions and also what you need to know about the Federal Oversight, Reform, and Enforcement of the WARN Act (FOREWARN Act) in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. You’ll learn how the FOREWARN Act will change the definitions of affected employers, minimum layoffs, and the notice period. Also learn about when potential double penalties may be imposed and how the Secretary of Labor’s rôle could change.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

In Notice 2009-46, Substantiating Business Use of Employer Provided Cell Phones, the Internal Revenue Service requested comments from the public on several proposals for simplifying employer documentation of an employee’s business use of an employer-provided cell phone. For this purpose, the term “cell phone” includes similar telecommunications devices such as iPhones, Blackberries, and Windows Mobile Devices. An employee’s business use of an employer-provided cell phone is excludible from the employee’s income, but the fair market value of any personal use is includible in the employee’s taxable income.

The IRS is considering three methods for an employer to use to value such use of a cell phone. First is the “Minimal Personal Use Method” which might require an employee to establish use of a personal cell phone for personal use during business hours or a showing that the business cell phone was used for less than a certain established limit for personal use. Secondly, the “Safe Harbor Substantiation Method” would require a certain amount, such as seventy-five percent (75%), to be treated as business use. Finally, under the “Statistical Sampling Method”, an employer could use a statistical sampling method (subject to IRS approval) to determine an average employee business use percentage.

The IRS is also looking for a method to value the employee’s personal use for tax purposes. The IRS states that the employer’s cost “is not determinative of the fair market value of an employee’s fringe benefit.”

Notice 2009-46 provides further details on how employers may comment on the proposals and lists a deadline of September 4, 2009. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on Notice 2009-46.

You may have heard news reports about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), but aren’t sure how it might impact your company. All employers must be aware of what its passage would mean, how it would impact the rôle of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and how it would change the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). That’s because unlike the NLRA, no small business exemption exists in the current version of the EFCA.

How would the EFCA change the union certification process? Why have many business groups opposed the EFCA? Why do unions argue that the EFCA is necessary? How does the EFCA impact stalled negotiations? What penalties does the EFCA propose for certain unfair labor practices? What action items should employers consider as they deal with the EFCA, in whatever final form it takes?

To learn the answers to these and many other questions be sure to read this month’s featured article by the HR pros at MyHRSupportCenter, The Impending Impact of the Employee Free Choice Act. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.