Vision Payroll

This New Year’s you may have resolved to lose more weight, spend more time with family, or be nicer to your payroll service. Hopefully, you haven’t broken all those resolutions yet. It’s not too late to make some work-related resolutions you can stick to. High on that list should be getting up-to-date on the top 2009 employment law topics.

One important change is the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Amendments Act of 2008 or ADAAA. Effective January 1, 2009, this law change redefines who is considered disabled.

Later this month, the new federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations take effect. These regulations provide clarity on several long-standing, challenging regulations and implement new FMLA leave available to military family members.

In line with the 2009 changes, be sure you’ve implemented the changes required by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 or NDAA. Highlights include changes to Leave Duration, Multiple Leaves, Qualifying Exigencies, and Qualified Employees.

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.

Employees who have provided a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate claiming exemption from federal income tax withholding must file a new 2009 Form W-4 by February 16, 2009 in order to continue their exemption from federal income tax withholding. Employers must start withholding on February 16, 2009 if employees have not provided a 2009 Form W-4 claiming exemption. Even employees who are no longer claiming exemption should file a 2009 Form W-4 so that employers may calculate the proper amount of withholding. If an employee has not provided a 2009 Form W-4 by February 16, 2009, the employer should withhold based on a previously filed Form W-4 not claiming exemption, if available or using single, zero allowances, if not. Spanish-speaking employees may complete Formulario W-4(SP), Certificado de Exención de la Retención del Empleado. Upon request, Vision Payroll can provide employers with pre-printed 2009 Forms W-4 for all active employees. Vision Payroll will not automatically change any employee’s claimed withholding allowances. Employers should update the allowances claimed by logging in to their company file or providing Vision Payroll with the updated information.

Employers often question whether employees who work in one year and are paid in the next year should have the wages reported in the year the work was performed or the year the wages were paid. Generally, wages are reported based on payment date. For example, if the pay period ends on December 27, 2008 and the wages are paid on Wednesday, December 31, 2008, those wages are included on the fourth quarter 2008 Form 941 (or equivalent) and reported to the employee on the 2008 Form W-2. Alternatively, if the pay period ends on December 27, 2008 and the wages are paid on Friday, January 2, 2009, those wages are included on the first quarter 2009 Form 941 (or equivalent) and reported to the employee on the 2009 Form W-2. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on which year employees’ pay should be reported.

As the January 16, 2009 deadline for implementing the new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations draws closer, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that your company policies are compliant. What is the FMLA? Who does the FMLA affect at the company level as well as the employee level? What should you be doing now to ensure compliance? What is the impact of the National Defense Authorization Act? How has the definition of a qualifying serious health condition changed under the new regulations? Which new standard forms has the Department of Labor issued and where can you download copies of these forms? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. 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.

Do you know which employers must grant leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Are you sure about the benefits eligible employees must receive under the FMLA? Do you even know which employees are eligible for FMLA leave? These FMLA basics and highlights of the newly revised FMLA regulations are the topics of this month’s featured article by the HR Pros at MyHRSupportCenter. Don’t delay in becoming familiar with the revised regulations which also incorporate the Military Family Leave Amendments enacted earlier this year. The deadline to incorporate changes into policies, forms, handbooks, etc. in order to be in compliance with the revised regulations is January 16, 2009. 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.

Are you planning an end-of year bonus payroll for employees? With only four weeks left in 2008, now is the time to schedule any additional payrolls you need. Many employers like to distribute bonus checks at a firm party or get-together. If the bonus checks are included with a regular pay run, the year-to-date amounts on the employees’ stubs will reflect the bonus. To keep the bonus amounts off the pay stubs, schedule an additional payroll dated after your last payroll before the party or other event where you will distribute the bonuses. Remember to allow at least two days after the day you plan to transmit bonus amounts for the payroll to be processed and shipped. By scheduling bonuses early, Vision Payroll can work with you to help ensure that your bonus checks arrive on time.

Do you know what you need to know about at-will employment? Does it release you from any and all employment obligations and liabilities? What are the three exceptions to at-will employment? How can you find out what should be included in the offer letter, the employee handbook, and employment agreements to reduce your risk? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. 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.

As employers consider layoffs as one alternative during these tough economic times, the HR Pros at MyHRSupportCenter have chosen this month to review some of the laws which employers must comply with when planning and implementing layoffs. This month’s featured article discusses the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act (OWBPA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). 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.

Are you ready to make a higher contribution to your retirement plan in 2009? Did your company establish an HSA and you’re not sure how much you can put away? Do you need to know the maximum Social Security tax that can be withheld? The election results are in and so are most of the 2009 inflation adjustments for payroll facts and figures. We’ve collected what you’ll need and added them to our 2007 and 2008 presentation and now you can get them all in one place. Click Tutorials, then Important Facts and Figures. We’ll update them as needed so you can always visit VisionPayroll.com when you need the latest results.