Payroll & Business Experts Blog

No one likes to think that a medical emergency will happen at their workplace.  But the fact is emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone.  Suppose there is a situation at your company where an employee is complaining of chest pains or shortness of breath or abdominal pain.  What should you do first?  Do you contact their manager or supervisor?  Do you notify HR?  Do you call 911?  Do you try and get ahold of the employee’s emergency contact?

An employer is responsible for the health and safety of all employees in the workplace.  The best way to prepare for a medical emergency is to plan ahead of time for how employees and the company should respond.  For most people, it’s difficult to think clearly and logically during a crisis.  So it’s important to be able to think about different, potential workplace emergencies before they actually happen and plan your course of action.

The risks of not having workers’ comp insurance can be immense.  Whether an employer runs a small office or has a medium sized business, hires one employee or oversees many, they should be aware of the fact that if any employee is injured during work, they can face huge liabilities.  A small firm can even go out of business.

Laws on workers’ comp vary from state to state.  In some states a company may not have to carry workers’ comp insurance if there are less than three employees, while some states may require the insurance even if there is only one employee.  In some states, having workers’ comp insurance is mandatory and the employer or company can face legal action or severe penalties for not carrying workers’ comp insurance.

Many provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that become effective beginning in 2014 are designed to expand access to affordable health coverage.  A new series of questions and answers have been released by the Department of Labor which address the requirements for employers relating to automatic enrollment, the 90-day limitation on waiting periods and employer shared responsibility under the Affordable Care Act. 

The questions and answers provide information and identify various approaches the Federal agencies (Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury) are considering proposing in future regulations or other guidance.  Guidance that employers may rely upon with respect to the issues addressed in the FAQs will be provided with sufficient lead time for employers to comply.

Over the last two years, the government has focused its efforts on immigration compliance.  This includes targeting businesses for I-9 audits, monitoring H-1B workers, resuming Social Security No-Match letters and launching new online resources for verifying a person’s eligibility to work in the United States.  It’s important to keep your business in compliance to avoid monetary penalties and possible criminal charges.

We found an excellent article… 12 Steps to Immigration Compliance in 2012… by Shanon Stevenson, who is a partner in the Atlanta office of the law firm Fisher & Phillips and a member of the firm's Global Immigration Practice Group.  We’ve pulled six of the 12 steps from her article and included links to resources we’ve written about on our Payroll & Business Experts blog.

As the perfect follow up to our blog article from last Friday… The Importance of Employee Attitude Surveys, CareerBuilder posted yesterday an article on the same topic… Employee Feedback: Are You Really Listening?.  CareerBuilder discusses five benefits of listening to employee feedback.  One of which is saving money on programs your employees don't really take advantage of.  Here are some excerpts from their blog article…

While administering employee feedback surveys can feel like you’re putting both your company and your performance as a leader and manager in front of the firing squad, it also happens to be one of the most efficient and effective ways to understand the internal workings of your organization.  Consider the following benefits to employee surveys…

Employees are the cornerstone of your business.  Employee attitude surveys give your workforce the opportunity to provide confidential feedback on their opinions of your company.  These surveys are an important way for businesses to measure job satisfaction, employee motivation, opinions and attitudes.  The goal is to enhance employee morale and productivity as well as provide organizations with a picture of where improvements can be made. 

To build integrity and trust among your employees, the results of your survey should be effectively communicated and acted upon by your company.  There is nothing worse than taking the time to survey your employees and then never getting around to implementing any of the feedback you receive.

It’s that time of year again when employers are scrambling to get W-2 forms out to employees.  And employees are stressing about when they will receive their W-2 so they can get a head start on filing their 2011 taxes.  For those of you that haven’t received your Form W-2 yet or if the W-2 you received has incorrect information on it, there are steps you can take to get this document.  If your employer has gone out of business or went bankrupt, you can follow these same steps so you can file your tax return on time using Form 4852 as a substitute for your missing W-2 form.

Employers have until January 31, 2012 to send you a 2011 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement.  If an employer is mailing W-2s to employees, they must be postmarked by January 31st and may take a week or two to arrive.  The IRS recommends that you wait two weeks for your W-2 to arrive in the mail.  If you moved in 2011, make sure you notified your employer’s human resource or payroll department so they have your correct address on file.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a bulletin on December 16, 2011 which outlines proposed policies that will give states more flexibility and freedom to implement the Affordable Care Act.  States will be given wide latitude to decide what “essential benefits” insurers must offer in their health policies come 2014.  HHS intends to propose that items and services required to be covered as "essential health benefits" be defined by an existing benchmark health insurance plan to be selected by each state.

In the article, HHS Gives States Flexibility on Health Law’s ‘Essential Benefits’, Kaiser Health News says “The guidance may well please states, which wanted maximum flexibility, but it disappointed some patient advocates.  And it continues the uncertainty faced by insurers, consumers and employers over exactly what will be covered in the essential benefit package.”

The IRS announced that taxpayers will have until April 17th to file their 2011 tax returns.  The IRS encourages taxpayers to e-file as it is the best way to ensure accurate tax returns and get faster refunds.  The IRS expects to receive more than 144 million individual tax returns this year, with most of those being filed by the April 17th deadline.

Taxpayers will have until Tuesday, April 17, to file their 2011 tax returns and pay any tax due because April 15 falls on a Sunday, and Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, falls this year on Monday, April 16.  According to Federal law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way that Federal holidays do; therefore, all taxpayers will have two extra days to file this year.  Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until October 15th to file their 2012 tax returns.

The following is a guest blog post by Marci Gott, Manager, Operations Support & Compliance at PrimePay.

Eight states have raised their minimum wage rates for 2012.  Minimum wage rates in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington rose between 28 and 37 cents per hour effective January 1, 2012.  Rates in these states will range from $7.64 per hour in Colorado to $9.04 in Washington in 2012.  Washington state, which has the highest rate in the country, will become the first state whose minimum wage rate will go above $9.00 per hour.