DirectHR! A Better Way to Manage Your HR Functions  DirectHR Basic Program   Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you can access the online HR Support Center for all of your HR needs. Resources include: Employee Handbook: Downloadable and customizable. Policy Library: Library of standard business policies. State and Federal Laws: Written in easy to understand terms. HR Forms: Library of business, state and federal forms. 3-Minute HR Audit: Assess the effectiveness of your HR functions. eAlerts: Instant notification for important law updates. HR Checklists: Checklists to help organize business tasks. HR Guides: Various guidelines providing helpful [...]

After a three year long hiatus without an increase to the Social Security wage base, 2012 saw an increase of 3.1% increasing the 2012 wage base to $110,000 from $106,800. In 2009 the Social Security wage base jumped up 4.7% from the 2008 Social Security wage base of $102,000 to $106,800. Although the wage base of $106,800 held steady for three years, the next few years predict a steady increase in the Social Security wage base. Informal projections will likely bring consistent increases to the Social Security wage base over the course of the next few years. Projected increases are [...]

As an employer, you are required to pay certain employer only payroll taxes. Social Security/FICA, although lowered to 4.2% for the employee portion, remains at 6.2% for the employers match up to the first $110,100 in wages for 2012. Also required is a 1.45% Medicare match with no salary cap. FUTA must be calculated at a rate of 0.6% for the first $7,000 in wages. However, keep in mind, if your state falls in a credit reduction state for the year, you will owe an additional 0.3% in FUTA taxes. When the list of credit reduction states is released at [...]

It is commonly thought that if you are a student, then you are exempt from federal income tax withholding. This is not necessarily the case. High School and College students must meet the same criteria as all other U.S. Citizens to be considered exempt from federal income tax withholding.  Regardless if you are a student or not, you are not exempt from federal income tax withholding if: Your annual income is greater than $950 including over $300 of unearned income such as dividends and interest, and Another person is claiming you as a dependent. It is common for students to [...]

We are looking for Sales people in the Charlotte area. Please send resume via email to beth@directpaypayroll.com Our objective is to provide full service payroll and tax filing services for small to medium size businesses in and around the Southeast. What makes our company an industry leader in the Charlotte area is our focus on excellence and our passion for impeccable customer service. Our sales team is the face of our company and needs to demonstrate these traits. Ideally, our candidate will have an established network along with payroll sales experience. However, sales professionals with an excellent work ethic and [...]

Well, just calling it voluntary ain't gonna cut it if you want to get out of paying for employee training.  If you are offering additional off-duty training to your hourly employees, you'll need to adhere to some FLSA guidelines. If the training is being touted as voluntary, but your employees get the impression that they will be adversely affected by not attending, this will not suffice. Listed below are some indications that will clear up some contrived "voluntary" training is truly mandatory and therefore, compensable: Job postings indicate employees must be willing to learn topics discussed in training sessions Non [...]

All employers should have their employees complete Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate in order to know the correct amount of income tax to withhold from employees' wages. New employees should be asked to submit a signed Form W-4 when they begin work, and the form should be effective starting with the first wage payment. Any employee exemptions need to be indicated on their form W-4 and kept on file.  If a new employee does not submit a completed Form W-4, taxes withholding should be calculated as if he or she is single, with no withholding allowances. Non-resident aliens may [...]

The next evolution of phishing, called smishing, uses SMS texts in an attempt to get victims to reveal personal information about themselves. The criminals, often targeting particular regions or area codes and sometimes using stolen customer phone numbers from banks or credit unions, will send messages such as "There is a problem with your account" or "To avoid being charged for .... Service, reply 'STOP' to this message." What should you do if you suspect you are a victim of smishing? Do not download anything on your mobile device unless it is from a trusted source. When making online purchases, [...]

Actually, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to issue pay statements to their employees. However, FLSA does mandate that employers keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid to employees. Although the FLSA does not require Employer's to issue pay stubs, your individual state may required pay stubs be issued. Furthermore, your state may have very specific stipulations as to what must be listed on pay stubs. For instance Alabama has no provisions while South Carolina requires Gross Pay and itemized deductions to be listed. North Carolina requires only itemized deductions be listed while Georgia [...]