Short Takes: Mileage Reimbursement Changes
Did they change the mileage reimbursement amount again?
Tag: business
IRS Simplifies Tax Filing Requirements for Small Employers
The Internal Revenue Service has just issued temporary and proposed regulations designed to reduce the tax filing burden for small business owners. As of Jan. 1, 2006, eligible small employers will be able to file the new Form 944 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return) once a year, rather than filing Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal […]
IRS Announces 2006 Standard Mileage Rate
The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2006 standard mileage rate commonly used to reimburse employees for the business use of a vehicle. The new rate will be 44.5 cents per mile, beginning Jan. 1, 2006.
Exempt/Nonexempt: How Do We Properly Classify Our IT Workers?
I need some help with the administrative exemption as it relates to IT workers. We are a software consulting firm. Each consultant works pretty independently, managing and doing work on their own projects directly with clients. Their work is a mix of upper-level tasks (systems analysis, training, project management) and lower-level tasks (installing upgrades and […]
Feds Urge Employers to Prepare for Emergencies
The Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with the Advertising Council, has launched a campaign to educate small and mid-sized employers about engaging in emergency preparedness efforts to protect their employees, business operations, and assets. The program includes a website, http://www.ready.gov, with extensive information on emergency planning, including a sample emergency plan, emergency supplies checklist, […]
Temporary Employees: Are Employers Obligated to Check Up on Employment Agencies?
We have two main types of nonemployee workers: temps (who usually work just a few days or weeks) and leased employees (who work basically full time). In both cases, we pay a fee to the agency and the leasing company, and they handle all the employment matters, including hiring, payment, and benefits. My question is […]
Auto Insurance: How Do We Ensure that Employees’ Auto Insurance Meets Company Requirements?
Many of our employees drive their privately owned vehicles on company business. We’re concerned about their insurance. Can we make them provide us with a “Certificate of Liability Insurance” listing us as the certificate holder, so we’ll know for sure that their insurance is in effect? Also we’d like to require that they carry higher […]
Sexual Harassment: What to Do About Clients Who Harass Your Employees?
I work in a psychiatric hospital. We have been having a problem lately with patients sexually harassing our staff. Some of the clients are mentally retarded or mentally ill, and we’re not sure what to do about the harassment problem.— Susan
Employees May Shoulder Bigger Health Care Costs
According to the results of a new survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, business owners and benefits managers whose companies currently pay for at least some health-insurance benefits expect healthcare costs to jump an additional 12 percent over the next year–and they will ask their employees to pay an average of 21 percent of […]
Wells Fargo Settles Check-Cashing Fee Suit
Wells Fargo & Co. bank has settled a lawsuit that challenged the $5 fee charged by the bank for non-accountholders who cashed payroll checks drawn on a Wells Fargo account. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of California employers, claimed that the fee put businesses in jeopardy of violating a California Labor Code provision requiring employers […]