The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2010-15 addressing provisions of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act of 2008 which relates to qualified retirement plans, including 401(k), 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans. The guidance includes 20 questions and answers, and discusses topics such as survivor and disability retirement benefits with respect to military service, differential wage payments, and in-service distributions. Major provisions in the law include:

• A survivor of a deceased service member is allowed tax-free rollover of certain funds to a Roth IRA or Education Savings Account.
• Employers who pay all or some of the compensation that an employee would have normally been paid to those on active duty (”differential pay”) must recognize that compensation when calculating pension benefits. These wages paid were previously not treated as wages for federal employment tax purposes, but the HEART Act amended the Code to now treat differential pay as wages for income tax withholding purposes.
• Reservists who request distributions from defined contribution plans (including 401(k) plans) while serving at least six months of active duty on or after Dec. 31, 2007 will not be subject to the 10 percent withdrawal penalty, regardless of the participant’s age.
• The HEART Act requires plans to consider an employee who dies while on active duty to be considered a “deemed rehired employee” in order to provide the employee with any additional benefits that would have been provided to an active employee. These benefits may include accelerated vesting, life insurance and other survivor’s benefits.

The notice provides that an amendment regarding the applicable HEART Act provisions should be effective on or before the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2010. For calendar year plans this date is Dec. 31, 2010. Governmental plans need to make the applicable amendments on or before the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2012 (Dec. 31, 2012, for calendar year plans).

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Proactive workplace safety initiatives and risk management are essential to your company’s financial health.  Staff One delivers a comprehensive risk management and safety program that includes Pay-As-You-Go workers’ compensation coverage, specialized training, loss control management and OSHA compliance assistance.

A key to controlling Workers’ Compensation premium cost, is the management of factors that affect its experience modification factor (mod), a crucial component in the calculation of a company’s workers compensation premium.  Controlling your mod will help you to control your costs.  Here are a few tips to live by if you are trying to control this cost and your bottom line.

1. Investigate accidents immediately and thoroughly. Take corrective action to eliminate hazards. Be aware of fraud.
2. Report all claims to carrier immediately. Alert carrier to any serious, potentially serious, or suspect claims. Frequently monitor the status of the claim and communicate with the adjuster to resolve as quickly as possible.
3. Take an aggressive approach to providing light duty to all injured employees upon their release from treatment. Supervise light duty employees to assure their conformance with restrictions.
4. In serious cases that involve lost time, communicate with the claims adjuster so that they recognize your interest in returning the injured employee back to gainful employment.
5. Set safety performance goals for persons with supervisory responsibility. Success in achieving safety goals should be used as one measure during performance appraisals for managers and employees.
6. Develop a written safety program and train employees in their responsibilities for safety. Incorporate a disciplinary policy into the program, one that holds employees accountable for breaking the rules or rewards them for correctly following safety procedures.
7. Frequently communicate with employees, on a formal and informal basis, regarding the importance of safety.
8. Make safety a priority. Senior management must be visible in the safety effort and must support improvement.
9. Evaluate accident history and near-misses at least monthly. Look for trends in experience and take corrective action on worst problems first, as soon as the problems manifest themselves
10. If you don’t have the resources available internally to implement these suggestions, hire a third party who specializes in minimizing the risks.

The Internal Revenue Service, in Revenue Procedure 2010-10, set the maximum vehicle values below which the ‘‘vehicle cents-per-mile’’ valuation rule and the ‘‘fleet-average’’ valuation rule may be employed in valuing the personal use of vehicles provided in 2010 by an employer to an employee.

The maximum value of employer provided vehicles first made available to employees for personal use in calendar year 2010 for which the vehicle cents-per-mile valuation rule (Treas. Reg. § 1.61-21(e)) may be applicable is $15,300 for a passenger automobile and $16,000 for a truck or van, IRS said.

The maximum value of employer provided vehicles first made available to employees for personal use in calendar year 2010 for which the fleet average valuation rule pertaining to 20 or more automobiles (Treas. Reg. § 1.61-21(d)) may be applicable is $20,300 for a passenger automobile and $21,000 for a truck or van.

According to the IRS, if an employer provides an employee with a vehicle that is available
to the employee for personal use, the value of the personal use must generally be included in the employee’s income and wages pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 61.

• 70% of Employers are non-compliant with wage and hour laws, according to the Department of Labor (DOL).
• 2 out of 3 workplace-related lawsuits that go to trial are won by the employee.
• $10.3 Million: Civil penalties assessed against employers by the Wage &  Hour Division of the DOL in 2007.
• $220.6 Million:  Damages paid by employers for wage and hour non compliance in 2007.
• 11.2 Million:  The jury award against Mary Kay Cosmetics for classifying beauty “consultants” as independent contractors.
• $650,000:  The average jury award to plaintiffs for damages in workplace-related lawsuits.
• 88,846:  Number of violations recorded by OSHA inspectors in 2007, of which 67,176 were serious.
• $1 million: Potential per-occurrence fine for failure to safeguard personal/non-public information against identity theft under the Gramm/Leach/Bliley safeguard Bill.

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ebsa/EBSA20100056.htm

The federal Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration establishes a final rule, effective Jan. 14, 2010, giving employers that have employee benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants a seven business day safe harbor period to deposit employee contributions to plans. Employers with retirement or welfare benefit plans subject to the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 must deposit employee contributions to plans on the earliest date that contributions reasonably can be separated from other employer assets. The safe harbor rule does not change ERISA’s requirement that employee contributions to welfare benefit plans must be made no later than 90 days after receipt, and employee contributions to retirement plans must be made by the 15th business day of the month following the month in which contributions are received.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., January 8, 2010 — Staff One, Inc. was awarded second place in the “Most Informative – National” category at the Greater Nashville Apartment Association Trade Show held July 23, 2009 at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn.

Staff One was among more than 100 exhibitors at the annual event, which connects apartment owners, managers and leasing professionals with local and national companies that serve their industry.

“We are very pleased that Staff One was recognized by the GNAA,” said Dan Telford, Business Development Executive for Staff One. “We support the GNAA at every opportunity and really enjoyed participating in this year’s trade show. We work hard to make sure our trade show exhibits convey the services Staff One provides, as well as sharing relevant information on how we can impact business owners and managers.”

With a presence in more than 41 states, Staff One is a leader in the HR Outsourcing industry, providing PEO services that include HR, benefits administration, risk management, compliance management, payroll and tax administration services to small businesses. Staff One has worked with clients in the property management industry for more than 20 years – playing a key role in decreasing employee turnover, maximizing occupancy rates and managing workers compensation risk. As a result, Staff One’s clients have grown more than 500% since they started with Staff One.

About Staff One
Founded in 1988, Staff One is a leading Human Resources Outsourcing firm with an ESAC accredited and bonded PEO service offering. Staff One operates as a full-service human resources department and delivers a comprehensive range of solutions that provides our clients with a level of support and value previously only available at much larger companies. By aggregating the buying power of hundreds of firms, Staff One provides premium benefits and benefits administration, risk management, compliance management, payroll outsourcing, tax administration and strategic HR services. Staff One currently serves clients with employees in more than 40 states. For more information, visit www.staffone.com.

About Greater Nashville Apartment Association
The Greater Nashville Apartment Association is a non-profit trade organization representing owners, management companies, apartment communities and suppliers to the multi-family industry.

While the tax filing deadline is more than three months away, it always seems to be here before you know it. Here are the Internal Revenue Service’s top 10 tips that will help your tax filing process run smoother than ever this year.

1.     Start gathering your records Round up any documents or forms you’ll need when filing your taxes: receipts, canceled checks and other documents that support an item of income or a deduction you’re taking on your return.

2.     Be on the lookout W-2s and 1099s will be coming soon from your employer; you’ll need these to file your tax return.

3.     Try e-file When you file electronically, the software will handle the math calculations for you. If you use direct deposit, you will get your refund in about half the time it takes when you file a paper return. E-file is now the way the majority of returns are filed. In fact, last year, 2 out of 3 taxpayers used e-file.

4.     Check out Free File If your income is $57,000 or less you may be eligible for free tax preparation software and free electronic filing. The IRS partners with 20 tax software companies to create this free service. Free File is for the cost conscious taxpayer who wants reliable question-and-answer software to help them prepare a return. Visit IRS.gov to learn more.

5.     Consider other filing options There are many different options for filing your tax return. You can prepare it yourself or go to a tax preparer. You may be eligible for free face-to-face help at an IRS office or volunteer site. Give yourself time to weigh all the different options and find the one that best suits your needs.

6.     Consider Direct Deposit If you elect to have your refund directly deposited into your bank account, you’ll receive it faster than waiting for a paper check.

7.     Visit IRS.gov again and again The official IRS Web site is a great place to find everything you’ll need to file your tax return: forms, tips, answers to frequently asked questions and updates on tax law changes.

8.     Remember this number: 17 Check out Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax on IRS.gov. It’s a comprehensive collection of information for taxpayers highlighting everything you’ll need to know when filing your return.

9.     Review! Review! Review! Don’t rush. We all make mistakes when we rush. Mistakes will slow down the processing of your return. Be sure to double-check all the Social Security Numbers and math calculations on your return as these are the most common errors made by taxpayers.

10.   Don’t panic! If you run into a problem, remember the IRS is here to help. Try IRS.gov or call our customer service number at 800-829-1040.

Links:

• Forms and Publications
• E-filing
• 1040 Central
  

President Obama, on Dec. 19, 2009, signed the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Act which includes amendments to the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that provided health care premium assistance for certain individuals. ARRA revised the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to require employers with COBRA-covered group health plans to pay 65 percent of health care premiums for up to nine months for assistance eligible individuals who lose health care coverage due to employees’ involuntary employment termination between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009. The new law expands the duration of the 65 percent premium assistance from nine to 15 months, and extends premium assistance to individuals who lose health care coverage due to employees’ involuntary employment termination between Sept. 1, 2008, and Feb. 28, 2010.

by National Association of State Workforce Agencies

NASWA has released a survey of the state unemployment trust fund solvency and tax rates. The survey’s findings underscores the significant impact that the current economic recession is having on Unemployment Insurance (UI) costs for all employers.

A total of 24 states will increase their taxable wage base in 2010. Of these 24 states, seven states (AR, FL, IN, NH, TN, VT and WV) have enacted legislation to increase the state’s “taxable wage base,” the level of wages subject to a payroll tax on employers. The remaining 17 state programs (AK, HI, ID, IA, MN, MT, NV, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OK, OR, UT, VI, WA and WY) index their taxable wage bases to the state’s average wages and will automatically increase their taxable wage bases for 2010.

Of the 51 state programs surveyed, 28 states (AK, AL, AZ, CO, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, KS, MA, MD, ME, MN, MT, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, VA, VT, WI and WY) indicated the tax schedule in their state will see an increase in 2010 compared to 2009. The majority of these increases will be automatic; adjustments often triggered by low levels of reserve funds in the state accounts used to finance unemployment benefits. While it is normal for states to recalculate tax rates each year, the magnitude of these rate increases for most states is unusual.

In addition, ten states (CA, CT, DE, KY, MI, MO, NC, RI, SC and TN) indicated their tax rate schedules were already at the highest tier, which would prevent them from automatically increasing in 2010. Consequently, the state legislatures would need to enact changes in state laws - either increasing the tax rates by changing tax rate schedules or increasing the state taxable wage bases.

Six of the 51 state programs surveyed (AR, CA, CT, FL, HI and MA) indicated they will automatically increase their tax rates due to a solvency tax already in state law. The majority of these solvency taxes also activate when states’ trust fund balances fall below specified levels.

Of the 51 state programs surveyed, 35 states estimated the level of UI tax revenue collected in 2010 would surpass the level collected in 2009; with a median projected increase of 27.5%. The range of these projected increases was 2.5% to 600%.

More information can be found at www.workforceatm.org

Human resources outsourcing is a strategic move to improve the quality and flexibility of your workforce, while improving your organization’s ability to accommodate change and stay ahead of market forces. Today, many companies are outsourcing their human resource functions. The benefits affect owners and executives, HR managers and employees and can include cost savings, access to highly skilled professionals and advanced technology, which collectively result in a sustainable competitive advantage.

BENEFITS TO OWNERS & EXECUTIVES

• Reduce Liability - A single poorly handled employee incident can imperil your entire organization. Issues from wrongful termination to a hostile workplace need never be an issue in an organization that is doing all the little things necessary to prevent them. The problem is that many organizations are not aware of their responsibilities, and this can lead to disaster. Our clients sleep well at night knowing that these things are being professionally and competently handled.
• Increase Employee Productivity - Staff One implements strategic performance management plans for every employee in your organization which are aligned with your business goals. We then put systems in place to monitor, report and review the performance of each member of your team. Employees appreciate knowing exactly what is expected of them, and will rise to exacting standards when they know their performance is being measured and reviewed.
• Decrease Total Cost of Labor - Staff One will analyze your entire cost of labor from benefits, workers’ compensation, compliance management, payroll administration, low productivity and more, and find the places where your organization could be more efficient. Depending on the size of your firm, that could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in savings.
• Increase Profits - Staff One’s strategic human resources solutions lower your overall cost of labor, and our performance plans and metrics mean your entire organization will be operating at higher levels of output.
• Strategic Decision Making - Making good decisions requires good information. Our HR systems management makes strategic planning and efficient allocation of scarce resources much easier for our clients.
• Reduce Turnover - One of the biggest hits to your productivity and profitability is employee turnover. Keeping good employees happy doesn’t happen by accident. It is planned! Our clients benefit from thoroughly planned and proven HR administration that dramatically reduces turnover. From recruiting the best people, to designing effective compensation plans, to regular performance reviews to training and development programs, we can help.
• Focus On Business - Staff One handles HR, freeing you up to focus on growing your business.

BENEFITS TO HR MANAGERS

• Focus on People - You got into human resources because of your dedication to your employees. But over time you spend more and more of your time on paperwork. It doesn’t have to be that way. Our proven systems reduce the paperwork dramatically. Get back to what matters - your employees.
• Reduce Workload - Imagine what your career would be like if you could eliminate or dramatically reduce the paperwork. You would have more time to focus strategically, instead of stomping out fires. Our web based HRIS system includes full employee self-service functionality. Your employees can access payroll records, W-2s, benefits plans, performance reviews, company policies and more any time of the day or night securely over the Web. How much time would that save you every day?
• Data Driven Management - We provide HRIS reliable reports specifically designed to keep you informed of all information critical to doing your job. Good information is critical to making good decisions.
• Eliminate Administrative Burden - Are the certain aspects of HR that you just don’t like? COBRA? FMLA? Regulatory compliance? We handle the things you don’t like so you can get back to focusing on your business.
• Keep Within Budget - You have budgetary responsibilities, and keeping within budget is critical to your success. We provide budget tracking reports that help you stay informed. Furthermore, our solutions may help cut your costs. We will also improve your organization’s productivity, which means you will have to hire fewer people in the future to get the same output.

BENEFITS TO EMPLOYEES

• “Big Company” Benefit Plans - Our benefits plan design and administration provides enhanced benefits to your employees without significantly increasing costs. An attractive benefit and compensation plan is crucial to attracting the best people.
• Clear Expectations - Employees truly appreciate knowing exactly what is expected of them. When communication between management and staff is clear, everyone benefits.
• 24-Hour Access To Records - Your employees will appreciate being able to access important data online securely any time of the day or night. They can see their own payroll records, personal profiles, learning and development resources and more.
• A Better Workplace - The goal of any HR Department is to provide a friendly and rewarding workplace for all employees. Employees who love their job and their company stick around and produce more.