Levine, Katz, Nannis +
Solomon, P.C.
NOVEMBER 2001
In light of the
September 11 terrorist attacks, businesses around the country may find
themselves having to adjust frequently as reservists are called upon to serve
their county.
Two
issues that companies may face when their employees are called upon, is how to
replace them or handle their immediate responsibilities. A second issue is what
to do about salary and benefits – should you as a company continue paying
reservists or guard members or provide their families with health insurance?
Companies
faced with employees being called to duty have to decide whether it makes more
sense to temporarily replace them or to see if co-workers can reasonably be
expected to carry an increased workload. The answer will depend on what the job
entails and whether other employees are trained or skilled enough to do the
work. The solution might be to juggle responsibilities so that experienced
staffers handle the most critical work – even if it means they have to be
brought up to speed quickly – and hire temporary workers to do some of the
less-pressing tasks.
How
an employer handles such issues such as pay, reinstatement and seniority for
reservists and guard members is addressed by the Uniformed Services Employment
and Reemployment Rights Act.
The
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), enacted in
1994 and provides protection and rights of reinstatement to employees who
participate in the National Guard and Reserve.
To find out more about your responsibilities as an employer and how to handle this if the need would arise, you can visit the Web site at www.esgr.org or by calling 800-336-4590.
New proposed Treasury
Regulations expected to be published in today's Federal Register will clarify
certain areas of confusion regarding the age 50 catch-up rules for 401(k) plans
that were introduced as part of last year's tax act.
The
new tax act provides that employees who are 50 or older are entitled to make
catch-up contributions totaling $1,000, in addition to their regular maximum
contributions, to a company-sponsored 401(k) plan. The annual catch-up
contribution amount will increase until 2006 at which time the amount will be
$5,000.
The
proposed regulations will explain that employees who turn 50 before the end of
a calendar year will be considered to be 50 as of January 1 of that calendar
year, thus allowing them to make catch-up contributions as of the first of the
year.
In addition, the proposed regulations explain that the catch-up contribution is an annual amount, not a per-plan amount. Employees who work for more than one employer during the year are limited to the maximum catch-up contribution amount for the entire year.
The Social Security
Administration has announced the new wage base for application of Social
Security tax withholding, effective January 1, 2002. The taxable wage base will
increase 5.6% from $80,400 to $84,900.
This
increase will have the effect of raising the amount of Social Security tax paid
by individuals making at least the maximum in Social Security taxable wages by
$279, bringing the total tax to $5,263.80.
Self-employed
taxpayers will see an increase of $558 in Social Security taxes, bringing the
maximum Social Security tax to $10,527.60.
Meanwhile, Social Security benefits will increase by 2.6%, and the average Social Security recipient will receive $874 per month.
Despite the inherent privacy invasion, companies are now and will continue to monitor the Internet use of their employees. However, should all employees live in a Big Brother environment simply because one or two are likely to break the rules?
A study just released by the Privacy Foundation reports that 35 percent of U.S. companies engage in continuous monitoring of the electronic activities of their employees.
The regular monitoring of Internet and e-mail communications in the workplace is a relatively new phenomenon, with after effects yet to come in labor law and human resources, as well as employee behavior and morale.
Fourteen million employees -- just over one-third of the online workforce in the United States -- have their Internet or e-mail use under continuous surveillance at work. Worldwide, the number of employees under such surveillance is at 27 million, just over one-quarter of the global online workforce. The online workforce is those employees who have Internet and/or e-mail access at work, and use it regularly.
Monitoring an entire workplace in order to catch slackers, deter inappropriate Web surfing, or perhaps to flush out criminal behavior, may strike some employers as sensible. But it may also instill an air of suspicion and hostility into the workplace. Furthermore, the monitoring of an entire workplace to protect the organization from liability for hostile environment lawsuits may be creating its own risk for employers. By tracking and storing a detailed audit trail of employee activities, organizations may by unintentionally stockpiling large amounts of potential evidence that could be used against them in future litigation.
The IRS has issued final regulations on the requirements for excise tax returns, payments, and deposits. These regulations are effective for calendar quarters beginning after September 30, 2001 and they relate to taxpayers who file Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return. The changes will be reflected on the fourth quarter Form 720 and its instructions.
Filing dates. All Forms 720 are to be filed by the last day of the month following the quarter for which the return is made. The returns are due by April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. The one-month filing extension that was allowed for returns relating to communications, air transportation, and ozone-depleting chemicals has been eliminated.
New Deposit Threshold. No deposit is required for taxes listed in Part I of Form 720 if the net tax liability does not exceed $2,500 for the quarter. The previous threshold was $2,000.
Change in Deposit Dates. The classes of tax referred to as the 9-day rule, the 14-day rule, and the 30-day rule have been eliminated, and all semimonthly deposits of tax made under the regular method of deposits are due by the 14th day of the following semimonthly period. Typically these dates will be the 29th day of the month for the first semimonthly period and the 14th day of the following month for the second semimonthly period. If the deposit due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deposit is due the immediately preceding business day.
There are no changes to deposit dates under the alternative method of making deposits.
Amount to Deposit and Safe Harbor Rules. The semimonthly deposit of tax is required to be at least 95% of the amount of net tax liability due. This replaces the requirement to deposit 100% of the net tax liability and the current liability safe harbor rule. The look-back quarter liability safe harbor rule still applies.
Special Feature:
Employee referral programs (ERPs) are becoming one of the most cost-effective recruiting methods available, according to a survey released by the Society for Human Resource Management and Referral Networks.
Of the 586 HR professionals polled, the 2001 Employee Referral Program Survey found that a total of 80% of survey respondents felt that Employee Referral Programs are more cost-effective than job search firms, and almost 70% said that the programs are more cost-effective than other recruiting practices.
37% of respondents indicated employee referral programs were more effective or extremely effective compared to other recruiting methods.
36% said that employee referral programs were effective or extremely effective in increasing retention of current employees.
34% indicated the programs increased the number of interested candidates.
65% of respondents said their organizations have either a formal or informal employee referral program.
Financial rewards were clearly the most frequently used (77% for exempt positions and 78% for nonexempt positions).
Cars were second (23% and 22%) and;
gift certificates came in a distant third (8%). In most cases, the amount of the award was predetermined and distributed after a required tenure period of the new hire – usually three months.
When asked if their organizations placed enough emphasis on and/or investment in their employee referral programs, 44% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that enough emphasis was placed on employee referral programs for exempt positions. Respondents also cited challenges such as lack of program awareness (36%) and stimulating employee participation (33%) as impacting the success of their organizations’ employee referral programs.