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Payroll

Payroll management, processing, and compliance for businesses of all sizes

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California Workers' Comp Just Got More Expensive: What the September 1 Rate Decision Means for Your Budget

California's advisory pure premium rate for workers' compensation rose 6.6% to $1.65 per $100 of payroll on September 1, 2026 — the second consecutive annual increase after a decade of declines. Here is how the benchmark actually reaches your bill, how to estimate the impact from your own payroll, and five levers — classification checks, clean audits, X-mod management, shopping the renewal, and monthly accruals — that keep the increase small.

mike

insurancecaliforniasmall-business

How Often Must You Pay Employees? The State Payday Rules That Override Your Payroll Schedule

No federal law sets private-sector pay frequency, so each state sets its own floor — New York requires weekly pay for manual workers, North Carolina permits monthly, and Florida sets no private-sector minimum. This guide covers the four state buckets, lag-time caps such as California Labor Code section 204, per-employee penalties, and how to change a payroll schedule without delaying wages.

mike

payrollcompliancelegal

Missouri's Paid Sick Leave Whiplash: What Employers Should Track After the Prop A Repeal (and Before the 2026 Ballot Rematch)

Missouri's paid sick leave mandate took effect May 1, 2025 and was repealed effective August 28, 2025, while the scheduled $15.00 minimum wage still arrives January 1, 2026. Here is how to close the 17-week accrual window in your books, keep the payroll codes dormant instead of deleting them, and stay ready for the 2026 ballot rematch.

mike

payrollcomplianceemployee-benefits

The Student FICA Exemption: Who Qualifies, and Where Payroll Gets It Wrong

Wages paid to a student by the school they attend are exempt from the 7.65% FICA tax under IRC Section 3121(b)(10), but only when the worker clears all four Revenue Procedure 2005-11 tests — at least half-time enrollment, under 40 hours a week across all campus jobs, no professional role, and no career-employee benefits. This guide covers the safe harbor, the five-week break rule, the graduation cliff, and how to correct withholding in either direction.

mike

payrolltax-compliancewithholding

When a TPS Work Permit Expires: A Restaurant Employer's I-9 Reverification and Payroll Playbook

Haiti and Syria TPS employment authorization documents have lapsed after a summer of shifting USCIS dates, and continuing to schedule an affected worker exposes a restaurant to per-worker penalties under INA section 274A. This guide covers the Form I-9 Supplement B reverification sequence, the five mistakes that turn paperwork into a discrimination claim, and how to book the overtime, temp-agency, and recruiting costs of rebuilding a roster.

mike

restaurantpayrollcompliance

Trump Accounts and ERISA: How to Offer the $2,500 Employer Contribution Without Creating a Plan

DOL Technical Release 2026-02 says employer Trump Account contribution programs generally are not ERISA pension plans, provided participation is voluntary and the employer adds no conditions, investment influence, ERISA claims, or extra consideration. This guide covers the four conditions, how the $2,500 per-employee and $5,000 per-child caps interact, and the payroll coding that keeps both reconciled.

mike

employee-benefitspayrollcompliance

On-Call Pay Under the FLSA: When Your Standby Hours Count as Paid Work Time

Under the FLSA, on-call hours are paid when employer restrictions keep an employee from using the time freely — the "engaged to wait" test. This guide covers the control factors investigators weigh, sleep-time rules for 24-hour shifts, how flat on-call stipends raise the overtime regular rate, and state rules like California reporting-time pay and city predictive-scheduling ordinances.

mike

payrollcompliancesmall-business
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