Do You Know About The ‘Nanny Tax?’

Did you know that under current law, any family or individual who pays a household employee more than $2,000 (2016) a year must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, also known as FICA. The law mandates that all domestic workers, such as cooks, nannies, housekeepers and gardeners, are subject to this combination of tax types known as the “nanny tax.” Federal unemployment insurance taxes must also be paid if the household pays any number of employees a total of $1,000 or more in a calendar quarter.

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Some Things You Should Know About Hiring A Caregiver

Many of us will eventually face what it’s like to engage a professional caregiver to help care for the needs of someone we love. It’s not an easy task, and sometimes it can be frightening as we entrust the life of a loved one to someone outside of the family. The process of finding the right person to help our loved one securely stay in their home can seem like a daunting undertaking. Even though the benefits of having help are obvious, the idea of inviting a stranger to live in your home and take care of a loved one makes many people feel uncomfortable. On top of all these considerations, there is also the added stress of understanding the various financial and insurance arrangements of a caregiver scenario. Before you dive into that process, it’s helpful to have a firm grasp of what options are available to you and to know exactly how the system works. (And walking into it armed with knowledge can help reduce the stress of the process.)

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The Difference Between the Family Leave Act (FMLA) and the Paid Family Leave Act (PFL) – What Does It Mean?

In a previous article posted in February 2016 we discussed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). In this article, we will discuss what the Paid Family Leave Act (PFL) is and how it works as an adjunct to the FMNA. The FMNA and PFL work together; they do not cancel each other out or replace the other.

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Preparing for the New Overtime Pay Rule

Big changes are coming to over-time policy. As noted in Accounting Today, in 2015 the Department of Labor proposed a rule change that will have a monumental impact on the way employers compensate their employees for over-time. The rule change raises the overtime exemption threshold under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final version of this rule change is not expected to be released until late 2016.

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Forms 1095B & 1095C ACA Compliance Extended

Pursuant to the terms and requirements of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), Forms 1095B and 1095C must be prepared and filed by certain employers and provided to employees by a statute specific time in order to be in full compliance with the ACA.

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Steps To Advance Equal Pay

The following discussion is an excerpt taken from a press release made available by the White House Office of the Press Secretary addressing “New Steps to Advance Equal Pay on the Seventh Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act”:

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The Family Leave Act (“FMLA”) – What Is It?

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Employees are also entitled to return to their same or an equivalent job at the end of their FMLA leave.

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How Does “Mandatory Paid Sick Leave” Affect You?

For quite some time, jurisdictions have had laws on the books requiring that employers grant employees sick leave without pay. Mandatory compensation while away for sick leave had never really been an issue. Over the past few years, however, momentum has been increasing to make it the law that workers be compensated while away from work for time taken off for sick leave.

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What’s “Ban the Box” All About? Some Practical Advice for Businesses

The idea behind “Ban The Box” is simple: it is a campaign seeking to introduce legislation prohibiting potential employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal background until “later” in the hiring process after consideration of an applicant’s qualifications.

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Should I Hire Someone as an Employee or Independent Contractor?

The distinction between treating someone as an employee instead of an independent contractor is significant.

For an independent contractor, for example, nothing is withheld from the payments made to the independent contractor for a number of payroll related taxes that would otherwise have been withheld if the payee had been treated as an employee. Within the employer/employee relationship, the employer is liable and responsible for paying for a variety of payroll related taxes such as Social Security and unemployment tax that are avoided by treating the payee as an independent contractor.

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