President Obama recently signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 into law. This law extends the starting point for determining the statue of limitations on pay discrimination issues. Until passage of this law the meter began when the initial pay discrimination decision was first made. The new act institutes the "paycheck rule" effectively starting the meter over with the issuance of each paycheck received by the troubled party.
As a result you may need to re-visit past pay policy decisions and record retention policies at your company with counsel.
Social Security Benefits Estimator
Did you know about Social Security's online retirement estimator for a personalized estimate of how much you might expect to receive in benefits when you retire?
The calculator is interactive and allows you to create different retirement scenarios. None of your personal information is revealed.
Now we only have to hope and pray the money will be there to pay us when we do retire!
Be Careful About Independent Contractors
These days the importance of saving a buck takes on an added significance. Avoiding the payment of payroll taxes by classifying or converting employees to independent contractor status is a very risky strategy.
Improper classification of employees can cause business owners to be assessed with hefty tax penalties for not paying various employment taxes. Before you take a gamble on classifying people as independent contractors consider these factors developed by the IRS:
1. ICs do not receive instructions about how to complete a job.
2. ICs do not receive training from the hiring company.
3. ICs have the right to hire others to do the work.
4. The work of an IC is not essential to a hiring company's success.
5. ICs do not use use time clocks.
6. ICs do not have a continuing relationship with the hiring company.
7. ICs have control over their work hours.
8. ICs have time to pursue other jobs.
9. ICs control where they work and are not under the hiring company's supervision.
10. The sequence of work is determined by the IC.
11. ICs are hired for the final result. They are not required to provide progress reports.
12. ICs are paid for the job and not on an hourly basis.
13. ICs work for more than one firm at a time.
14. Business expenses are the responsibility of the IC.
15. ICs have their own tools.
16. ICs have significant investments in their trade and do not rely on the company facilities.
17. ICs services are available to the general public via such things as advertising, signs, licenses, etc.
18. ICs have the ability to make a profit or loss based on such things as employees, cost of materials, pricing, etc.
19. ICs cannot be fired as long as they do the job they are hired to do in a satisfactory manner.
20. ICs don't get paid until the job is done right.
Certain exemptions from these rules do exist and as always you should consult your Tax Attorney before making your decision.
For more information visit the IRS.gov website.
Did you know about Social Security's online retirement estimator for a personalized estimate of how much you might expect to receive in benefits when you retire?
The calculator is interactive and allows you to create different retirement scenarios. None of your personal information is revealed.
Now we only have to hope and pray the money will be there to pay us when we do retire!
Be Careful About Independent Contractors
These days the importance of saving a buck takes on an added significance. Avoiding the payment of payroll taxes by classifying or converting employees to independent contractor status is a very risky strategy.
Improper classification of employees can cause business owners to be assessed with hefty tax penalties for not paying various employment taxes. Before you take a gamble on classifying people as independent contractors consider these factors developed by the IRS:
1. ICs do not receive instructions about how to complete a job.
2. ICs do not receive training from the hiring company.
3. ICs have the right to hire others to do the work.
4. The work of an IC is not essential to a hiring company's success.
5. ICs do not use use time clocks.
6. ICs do not have a continuing relationship with the hiring company.
7. ICs have control over their work hours.
8. ICs have time to pursue other jobs.
9. ICs control where they work and are not under the hiring company's supervision.
10. The sequence of work is determined by the IC.
11. ICs are hired for the final result. They are not required to provide progress reports.
12. ICs are paid for the job and not on an hourly basis.
13. ICs work for more than one firm at a time.
14. Business expenses are the responsibility of the IC.
15. ICs have their own tools.
16. ICs have significant investments in their trade and do not rely on the company facilities.
17. ICs services are available to the general public via such things as advertising, signs, licenses, etc.
18. ICs have the ability to make a profit or loss based on such things as employees, cost of materials, pricing, etc.
19. ICs cannot be fired as long as they do the job they are hired to do in a satisfactory manner.
20. ICs don't get paid until the job is done right.
Certain exemptions from these rules do exist and as always you should consult your Tax Attorney before making your decision.
For more information visit the IRS.gov website.
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