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THIS WEEK’S E-TIP: IRS Makes Mid-Year Increase to Standard
Mileage Rate

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last week announced a major increase to the optional standard auto mileage reimbursement rate for the last six months of 2008. The IRS raised the optional mileage reimbursement rate eight cents to 58.5 cents per mile beginning today, July 1, up from 50.5 cents for the first six months of 2008.

State of Colorado passes PEO and Employee Leasing Legislation - Colorado passes legislation that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of companies when hiring a professional employer organization. PEO and employee leasing arrangements have recognized legal status in Colorado.
EACH EMPLOYEE LEASING COMPANY SHALL PAY WAGES AND COLLECT, REPORT, AND PAY ALL PAYROLL-RELATED TAXES FROM ITS OWN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL COVERED EMPLOYEES. EACH EMPLOYEE LEASING COMPANY SHALL PAY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION INSURANCE TAXES AND PROVIDE, MAINTAIN, AND SECURE ALL RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS REQUIRED OF WORK-SITE EMPLOYERS UNDER THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE LAWS OF THIS STATE FOR COVERED EMPLOYEES. FOR UNEMPLOYMENT REPORTING PURPOSES, EACH EMPLOYEE LEASING COMPANY IS THE ONLY EMPLOYING UNIT FOR COVERED EMPLOYEES AND SHALL HAVE the responsibility for unemployment compensation insurance as required of an employer pursuant to the "Colorado Employment Security Act", articles 70 to 82 of this title.

Contractors must verify employees' legal status - Effective June 10, 2008 all contractors and others who do business with the federal government must us the E-Verify system to verify an applicants right to work.
Pat Villalobos, president and owner of Barnhart/Taylor, which provides engineering, heating and ventilation, bids on government contracts and has worked on various projects at Fort Bliss. "When it comes to my employees, I keep up with their documents," Villalobos said. "When they come work for me, I ask them for their documents, especially if they're going to be on government property. "The E-Verify system is very user-friendly," she added. "When I use employee leasing companies, the leasing companies verify (in advance) the legal status of the workers they send me. Anyone who is not ready for this will hinder their recruiting efforts, and (immigration authorities) can conduct an audit at any time."

Employers Must Use the NEW I-9 Form – The USCIS has revised the Form I-9 for employment eligibility verification.  The new form and information about it are available on the USCIS site at NEW I-9 or http://www.uscis.gov/i-9.  Five documents have been removed from the list of eligibility documents on List A [Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561), Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570), Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151), Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327), Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)].  Revised instructions for Section 1 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide his or her Social Security number in Section 1 of the Form I-9, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify.

Gevity HR CEO: 2008 a Year of Rebuilding SmallCapInvestor.com, 11-05-07 Extract: Gevity HR, Inc. (Nasdaq: GVHR) CEO Michael Lavington said 2008 will be a year of “rebuilding and refocus” for the human resources outsourcing company. The chief executive made the comments during a midday conference call….

401(k) Safe Harbor for Automatic Enrollment – The US Department of Labor has issued final rules providing a safe harbor for employers with 401(k) plans that automatically enroll employees.  These rules, which are effective December 24, 2007, establish "safe harbor" qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs) to make it easier for employers to automatically enroll workers in 401(k) and other defined contribution plans.  These QDIAs can be used without liability to the employer when an employee fails to opt out, but also fails to designate an investment option.  The default options include lifecycle funds (which gradually shift their allocation as an investor ages), balanced funds (which have a fixed blend of stocks and bonds), and professionally managed accounts.  The Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued a fact sheet with more information about the rules.

Employers Must Use the NEW I-9 Form – The USCIS has revised the Form I-9 for employment eligibility verification.  The new form and information about it are available on the USCIS site at NEW I-9 or http://www.uscis.gov/i-9.  Five documents have been removed from the list of eligibility documents on List A [Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561), Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570), Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151), Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327), Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)].  Revised instructions for Section 1 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide his or her Social Security number in Section 1 of the Form I-9, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify.

 

Launch of Work First Temp Staffing Program (09/13/2007)

We are pleased to announce that Payroll USA, Inc. is now able to provide worker's compensation to

temporary staffing companies through a broad-based property and casualty carrier called

"Work First".

"Work First" offers workmens' compensation coverage for temporary staffing firms in 37 states ( see attached map showing list of states where coverage is available).

Eligible temp staffing firms must have been in business at least 3 years.

Best candidates for this program is white-collar, light industrial, and construction risks.

For more information, Contact Us.