Resources

When it comes to company wellness programs, 88 percent of employees feel their employer has no significant impact on their overall well-being. “But wait,” an employer might say, “we have a company gym to promote wellness, right?” Unfortunately, the Field of Dreams line of “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply here. Well-being includes elements other than the physical kind.

The time has arrived for employers impacted by the eligibility reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as the IRS officially released the 2014 versions of the final forms and instructions on Feb. 8. Posted were the following forms, which fulfill the reporting requirements under ACA sections 6055 and 6056:

Last year, one major home-improvement chain made national news when it announced it would introduce a new sales associate, OSHbot, a customer-service robot that assists shoppers in finding the products they’re looking for in stores. The announcement prompted HBO’s Last Week Tonight show, hosted by John Oliver, to produce a segment on the importance of real, human sales assistants in home-improvement stores. Oliver’s argument was that sales assistants are not there to help people buy things; they’re there to “stop couples from tearing each other apart.”

President Obama has signed into law the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, which extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) until the end of December. Employers have diligently processed their employees for WOTC not knowing if the potential credit would be renewed, but with the recent extension they can be assured their efforts to utilize WOTC and other tax credits were not wasted; however, we are quickly approaching a deadline that is now just days away.

Even though it’s our busiest time of the year, we’re never too busy to pass on some exciting news and thank our employees, yet again, for helping shine the spotlight on Paycom. Paycom’s employees shared their experiences and opinions helping Paycom earn two very prestigious workplace honors. This year Paycom took the number two spot on The Oklahoman’s Top Workplaces and landed on Glassdoor’s Top 50 Best Places to Work in 2014.

Dear Payroll Manager, Thank you for making it rain every payday. No employee understands everything you do to make sure their paystub is accurate and on time. Pay rates, taxes, insurance, bonuses, garnishments, PTO, expenses and a whole lot more have to come together seamlessly every payday (or people come unglued). And more often than not you don't even get thanked when it all goes right. That's just not fair. We were going to write you a card for National Payroll Week, but we thought you could use a better payroll system instead.

It’s five o’clock somewhere; can you access your payroll information? For instance, can you easily pull past pay stubs, enroll in benefits, request time off or submit your time sheet right from your phone or laptop? If not, you’ll be delighted to know this is all possible with the proper technology.

The harsh reality is you may pay more in fees than what is in your retirement! This is the unfortunate reality many are facing, as the Department of Labor estimates 77 percent of 401k plans are out of compliance. To be deemed “qualified,” a 401k plan must satisfy the requirements listed under the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a). If a plan fails to meet these requirements, then the plan is deemed “disqualified” and favorable tax benefits may be lost.

Even in our digital age, paper remains a vital commodity for doing businesses. As an International Data Corporation study reported, “U.S.-based companies spend $25 billion to $35 billion processing (filing, storing and retrieving) paper.” Management of these documents pushes that figure up to $100 billion annually. As utilization of business data expands, companies are experimenting with alternate solutions to managing paper files.

What does it mean to be a leader? And can anyone be a leader? These are questions I’ve been asked a lot in school, interviews and workshops but until now I didn’t really have a definite answer. Leadership is a complex trait and it’s far more than “guiding a group of people.”

In the scope of basic math, the difference between 30 and 40 isn’t much. The continuing battle over the Affordable Care Act (ACA), however, is anything but basic. Currently at stake in the U.S. House of Representatives is the definition of a full-time employee. Whereas most federal labor laws equate a 40-hour workweek to full-time employment, the ACA definition lowers that to 30.