#compliance
Compliance
Navigate regulatory compliance and maintain audit-ready financial records
The Swipe Fee Lawsuit That Could Backfire on Merchants: Corner Post, Regulation II, and What Small Businesses Should Do Now
A North Dakota truck stop sued to lower debit card swipe fees — and in August 2025 a federal court vacated Regulation II's 21-cent interchange cap entirely. Here's how the Corner Post case reached the Eighth Circuit, the three ways it could end, and how small businesses can prepare for fees moving in either direction.
Pay Transparency Laws Reach 20 Jurisdictions in 2026: A Remote Hiring Compliance Guide
Virginia's pay transparency law took effect July 1, 2026, and Maine's LD 54 follows on July 29, bringing active U.S. pay transparency jurisdictions to 20. Because the rules attach to where a remote candidate could work — not where your company is headquartered — a remote posting without a good-faith salary range can violate laws in states where you have no office. Here's what changed, why remote postings trigger multi-state obligations, and a practical compliance checklist.
2026 State Minimum Wage Increases: A Multi-State Payroll Compliance Guide
Nineteen states raised their minimum wage on January 1, 2026 — Washington now leads at $17.13 an hour — and roughly 68 cities and counties set higher local rates. This guide lists every 2026 state rate, the mid-year changes in Florida and Oregon, new PFML payroll taxes in Maryland, Minnesota, and Delaware, and a seven-step checklist for keeping multi-state payroll compliant.
Surveillance Pricing Bans in 2026: What Maryland, Connecticut, and New York's New Laws Mean for Your Business
In 2026, Maryland, Connecticut, and New York enacted the first U.S. laws restricting surveillance pricing — algorithms that use personal data to charge individual customers different prices. Here's what each law bans, the loyalty-program and cost-based carve-outs, and a compliance checklist for small businesses using dynamic pricing tools.
Virginia HB 238: The Three-Year Pay Stub Retention Rule Now Binding Every Employer
Virginia's HB 238, effective July 1, 2026, requires every employer to retain pay statements for at least three years, presumes workers are employees unless the IRS contractor test is met, and imposes treble damages for knowing wage violations. Here is what changed in Va. Code § 40.1-29 and a retention checklist that also covers federal FLSA, IRS, and public-works rules.
Workers' Comp Premium Audits: Which Payroll Records Prevent a Surprise Bill?
A workers' comp premium audit reconciles your estimated payroll against actual payroll, job classification codes, and subcontractor payments. Missing a subcontractor's certificate of insurance can add the entire contract amount to your auditable payroll — plus a 25–50% non-compliance surcharge. Here are the records to keep monthly, and the 30–60 day dispute window to know.
Bookkeeping for Ammunition Reloading Supply Shops: Component Sales, FAET, and Lot-Level Inventory
A reloading supply shop that only sells bullets, brass, primers, and powder owes no federal ammunition excise tax — but loading and selling finished ammunition triggers an 11% FAET liability filed quarterly on TTB Form 5300.26. This guide covers the chart of accounts, lot-number FIFO inventory tracking, and hazmat freight costing that keep a component retailer or hybrid manufacturer compliant.
Bill-and-Hold Arrangements Under ASC 606: When You Can (and Can't) Recognize Revenue on Goods a Customer Hasn't Picked Up Yet
ASC 606 permits revenue recognition on bill-and-hold arrangements only when four criteria are all met — a substantive reason for the delay, goods segregated for the customer, readiness for immediate transfer, and no seller right to redirect them. This guide walks through each test, a worked allocation example splitting goods revenue from a separate storage obligation, legitimate use cases, and the seller-initiated-delay red flag that draws SEC scrutiny.
California's SB 525 Health Care Minimum Wage: July 2026 Rates, Tiers, and the Exempt-Salary Trap
California's SB 525 raised health care worker minimum wages to $22, $23, or $25 per hour on July 1, 2026, depending on facility tier — and pushed exempt salary floors as high as $78,000. Here's who is covered, the rate for each tier, and how to budget payroll facility by facility.
Captive Audience Meeting Bans: Which States Prohibit Mandatory Union and Political Meetings in 2026
After the Supreme Court declined to review Minnesota's captive audience law on February 23, 2026, at least 13 states now ban mandatory employer meetings on unionization, politics, or religion — with penalties like California's $500 per employee per violation. Here's the state list, the NLRB's three-part notice rule, and a compliance checklist for small employers.
The New Customs Enforcement Executive Order: What Every Importer of Record Needs to Do Before the Rules Change
Executive Order 14411, signed June 3, 2026, requires customs bonds or domestic assets for every importer of record, bars foreign IORs from informal entries and continuous bonds, mandates beneficial-ownership disclosures, and sets a 50% minimum penalty floor — with deadlines at 45, 90, and 180 days. Here's what small importers should do before the rules take effect.
The DOL's 2026 Independent Contractor Rule: The Five-Factor Test Explained for Small Employers
The Department of Labor's February 2026 proposal would rescind the 2024 six-factor worker classification test and reinstate a five-factor economic reality framework where control and profit-or-loss opportunity carry the most weight. Here's what changed, what still applies, and how small employers should audit their 1099 contractor relationships now.