We know, you’ve got a lot going on.  So much, in fact, that you don’t have a ton of time to worry about what’s new in the payroll world.  That’s where we come in!

Want to make sure you’re not missing important developments in the payroll scene?  Never fear: we’ve got the round-up of payroll news and updates that you need to know in order to stay in the loop.  This is Pay Matters –  the April 2018 edition.

Read on to stay informed and stay in compliance with relevant alerts and insights that matter most for your payroll.

UPCOMING WEBINAR – KEEP ON LEARNING!

Need some clarity on what the FMLA means for your organization? Learn what you need to know with our upcoming HR webinar!

Leaves of Absence Basics: Navigating the FMLA

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to public employers and any private employer with 50 or more employees.  Understanding all its provisions can be daunting.  Join us for an overview of FMLA regulations, common issues, and employer best practices.  You’ll learn key aspects of the act and what steps you need to take to manage employee leaves of absence under the law.

Register for this webinar over on our webinar page.

FEDERAL UPDATES

Labor Department Announces PAID Program

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has announced the launch of PAID - the Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program. Under the program, employers are permitted to self-report FLSA violations to the WHD. Employers will be able to pay back wages to employees for FLSA violations but avoid paying liquidated damages and penalties. Employees benefit by receiving 100% of back wages without having to pay attorney fees or other costs associated with private action.

The goal of the program is to increase employer compliance with employee classification, overtime, and minimum wage regulations, while at the same time avoiding litigation. Employers would conduct a self-audit of their practices for FLSA violations and contact the WHD should they discover violations. Employers would have to provide the WHD with a calculation of back wages as well as a plan to fix the issue for the future. The WHD would then assess the back wages due and issue forms describing the summary of unpaid wages which employers would be required to promptly pay to the employees affected.

The WHD plans to implement a 6-month pilot program and then evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

For more on the PAID program, click here.

STATE UPDATES

New York SUI Rate Changes

New York has released its 2018 contribution rates. The range of rates with the normal, subsidiary, and reemployment taxes is 0.9% to 8.3%, a drop from 2017 when the rates ranged from 1.3% to 9.1%. The new employer rate for 2018 is 3.6%, down from 4.0% in 2017.

California Overtime Ruling

The California Supreme Court recently issued a ruling on how to calculate employee overtime pay rate when an employee earns a flat sum bonus during a single pay period.

In this case, an employee was paid a flat $15 bonus for working on Saturday, in addition to his regular hourly rate. The question raised in determining overtime pay for the employee was how to calculate the per-hour value of the bonus in the employee’s regular rate of pay. The court ruled that the flat sum bonus should be divided by the number of non-overtime hours the employee worked during the pay period to determine the per-hour value for the bonus.  This diverges from the FLSA, which allows employers to divide the bonus by all hours worked, including overtime. The ruling gives the employee a greater per-hour benefit.

The California Supreme Court did note that this ruling applies only “to flat sum bonuses comparable to the attendance bonus at issue.” Other types of bonuses may require a different analysis.

For more details on the ruling, click here.

HR HEADS UP

April 25 is Administrative Professional’s Day: Be sure to recognize and appreciate the Administrative Professionals who keep operations running smoothly every day.  May we suggest a special delivery of flowers or a team lunch to celebrate?

April 26 is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day: Celebrate the opportunity to bring the next generation into the workforce. Kiddos will be curious to see what their parents do every day, and may become inspired when deciding what career they’d be interested in pursuing later on!