If an employee needs to receive back pay, this means that the employee wasn’t compensated correctly for their work. An employee may be owed back pay for bonuses, promotions, pay increases, or for hours they worked. Whatever the case may be, back pay is something that employers need to take seriously and handle in a timely manner.
Here’s what you need to know:
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California is known for its strict employment laws, and meal breaks are no exception. Recently, the meal break violations in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, have elucidated some issues surrounding CA timekeeping rules. This case specifically highlighted issues related to meal breaks and time rounding. Overall, it’s best to steer clear of time rounding practices when it comes to employee meal periods. If you’re a business owner or manager, you need to understand this case to know how to handle meal periods moving forward.
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If you’re a procrastinator, much like the 50-million people who didn’t file their taxes in 2019 until April 15th, I have good news for you! The U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the tax due date will extend from April 15th, 2021 to May 17th, 2021, giving everyone an extra month to gather their 2020 tax information.
Here’s what you need to know:
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As a business owner, you have the choice to compensate your employees utilizing a number of different methods, as long as you meet federal and state law requirements. One option employers can give their workers is called “piece-rate” pay. Piece-rate compensation allows the employee to earn pay based on the units created rather than the hours they worked.
If you’re thinking about paying your workers using a piece-rate system, here’s some things you should consider:
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Overtime rules in the United States are generally simple. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees who work over 40 hours a week earn 1.5x their normal rate of pay for overtime hours. If employees earn multiple pay rates during their shifts (perhaps due to different positions they may have within a company), business owners must calculate their regular rate of pay for overtime and pay their workers accordingly. If you’re in a state like California, overtime becomes a little more complicated. Employees in California earn daily overtime and may even earn double time depending on how many hours they work. Not only that, but other overtime rules apply when employees are on an Alternative Workweek Schedule.
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There are over thirty million small businesses in the United States, and they play a massive role in the economy; therefore, it’s imperative that they have support as they navigate through the pandemic. The Small Business Administration (SBA) played a huge role in the survival of small businesses in 2020, and they continue to do so in 2021. The SBA provides support for small businesses and entrepreneurs all over the nation with free business counseling, business loans, disaster loans, and more. Small businesses must get these kinds of tools so that they can compete against larger corporations and continue to contribute. In order to obtain this relief, however, businesses must actually count as small businesses, or meet the “small business size standard”. If you have too many or too few employees, you may not qualify for SBA relief and must find help elsewhere.
Need to get a loan from the SBA? Let’s see how if you qualify as a small business!
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The U.S. Treasury Department has reopened Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to eligible employers. The PPP loan forgiveness program, enacted by the Small Business Administration (SBA), provided economic relief to small businesses affected by the pandemic. Eligible businesses were able to use their PPP loans to pay for mortgages, payroll, utilities, and more. Despite this relief, many small businesses continued to struggle during these trying times. At the end of 2020, in an effort to assist these businesses further, congress passed another COVID-19 relief bill. That bill allotted $284 billion to go towards the PPP. This allowed the SBA to give businesses another chance to apply for PPP loans or obtain a second PPP loan, which is called the Second Draw PPP loan.
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Slack is a popular communication platform used by many remote workers. It’s a great platform to communicate and collaborate through instant messaging and video conferencing, which many remote teams enjoy as a new mode of communication. With the choice of public “channels” and private messaging, people have the freedom to speak publicly or work one-on-one with their coworkers easily. Some argue that Slack is more of a distraction than a tool conducive to one’s productivity due to the fact that people may use it to idly chat all day; however, many employers still utilize this system to collaborate with their workers.
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As the coronavirus spread in 2020, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which provided benefits for employees affected by the coronavirus. Additionally, under the FFCRA, employees were also allowed time off to care for their children or for a family member. The initiative allowed business owners with 500 or fewer employees to provide sick leave, insurance coverage, and other benefits to their employees. This support encouraged employers to keep their workers on payroll while ensuring everyone’s safety during the pandemic. Unfortunately for some, the DOL has decided that they will not extend sick leave under the FFCRA. However, the law does allow employers to voluntarily give employees paid sick leave. If employers choose to give their employees PTO under the FFCRA, they may receive tax credits.
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Over the years, employees in the United States have fought to increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hr with many political leaders joining in the effort. The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25/hr since 2009 and studies show that roughly two-thirds of Americans support an increase. With the new makeup of the Senate this year, this long-overdue increase is looking more likely than ever. In the meantime, many individual states have continued to increase their minimum wages in order to keep up with the cost of living in their regions.
Did your state increase its minimum wage? Let’s find out!
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If you’re an employer in the United States, it’s likely that you pay your employees mileage reimbursement when they’re traveling for work purposes. Every year, the IRS adjusts the mileage reimbursement rate based on examination of variable costs. Based on the latest study, the IRS has changed 2021’s mileage rate to a lower rate than last year. Taxpayers will use this rate to compute their deductible costs associated with using a vehicle.
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Owning and running a business is costly. In fact, most business owners are shocked when they see how much they’re spending in the office. Small costs here and there really add up causing business owners to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars extra every year. To save your business money and keep revenue on the rise, you must cut unnecessary costs. Luckily, there are ways that you can save money by planning ahead and taking the right steps.
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