Dundee Group Blog

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Dundee Group Blog Moves!

Dundee Group is moving our blog from its current location at TypePad to our own domain. With more frequent updates and a broader scope, including time & attendance issues and non-profit fundraising, we hope that our blog will be a valuable resource to you.

You can find our blog on our website menu, under "Social Media," or by using the dirrect URL "http://www.dundeegroup.com/_blog/Dundee_Group_Blog/". We hope to see you there!

Come see our new location!

What Is Happening With FUTA?

We are sure most of you are aware that unless Congress takes action soon, the federal unemployment tax rate (FUTA) is scheduled to decrease by 0.2%, effective July 1, 2011 as a result of the 0.2% FUTA surtax expiring June 30. The surtax is part of the 6.2% gross unemployment tax rate that employers pay on the first $7,000 of wages paid annually to each employee (6% permanent tax rate, 0.2% temporary surtax). The surtax has been in effect every year since 1976, when it was enacted by Congress on a ‘temporary’ basis. It has been extended several times in the past but unless new legislation is enacted, the FUTA tax rate, before consideration of state unemployment tax credits, will drop to 6.0%, effective July 1, 2011.

On the May 12 payroll industry conference call, the IRS was asked about the surtax. Sherry Saucerman, IRS Tax Analyst, noted that the IRS has no control over whether Congress enacts legislation to extend the surtax. She pointed out that the federal unemployment tax return (Form 940) is filed on an annual basis (due January 31 of each year). So it is possible that even if legislation is not enacted before July 1 to extend the surtax, it could be enacted prior to January 31 of next year, and be effective retroactively to July 1. The IRS was then asked how an employer would compute its upcoming quarterly FUTA tax deposits, which must be paid by all employers whose FUTA tax is more than $500 for the calendar year, if the legislation was to be applied retroactively. Shelley Dockstader, National Account Manager in IRS Electronic Tax Administration, replied that the IRS would have some mechanism in place under which an employer would not be assessed deposit penalties if it computed its third and fourth quarter unemployment tax deposits at a 6.0% rate, and legislation was enacted after the fourth quarter of this year that retroactively reinstated the surtax.

As of May 16th, the surtax extension hasn't surfaced yet in Congress, although a proposal in the President's fiscal year 2012 budget would keep the 0.2% FUTA surtax in effect on a permanent basis. Another budget proposal would raise the annual FUTA wage base from $7,000 to $15,000 per worker, beginning in 2014. Federal unemployment tax rates would be lowered, so employers' FUTA liability would not increase.

As new information becomes availible, we will update you on this topic.

The Department of Labor's New Timekeeping App

Last week, the Department of Labor released a free app for the iPhone that allows employees to keep track of their hours independently from their employer, and determine what they should be getting paid. Called "Timesheet," the app has only simple functionality, and is neither the first nor the most complex app of its kind to be availble on the iPhone. It is, however, the first one to be endorsed by the Departement of Labor.

The offical press release

The official app page

The press release says, in part, that "This new technology is significant because, instead of relying on their employers' records, workers now can keep their own records. This information could prove invaluable during a Wage and Hour Division investigation when an employer has failed to maintain accurate employment records." One feature of the app is the ability to take the employee’s punches, figure out what their pay should be given a base wage rate and OT and let the employee send an email straight from the app with the data as an attachment.

Again, similar apps already exist, but the DOL's endorsement of this particular app will probably increase its weight in any labor dispute that uses its data. Now more than ever, it is important for employeers to make sure they record accurate records of employees' hours. "I am pleased that my department is able to leverage increasingly popular and available technology to ensure that workers receive the wages to which they are entitled," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "This app will help empower workers to understand and stand up for their rights when employers have denied their hard-earned pay."

An Upcoming Educational Webinar From Sage

The National Labor Relations Board has heavily been in the news recently - a Google News search through the past week as of this posting turns up over 1,500 hits. But while the NLRB is suing states and companies like Boeing, it may not seem that your small to midsized business could be affected by these large-scale actions, but you may be more affected than you think. This free Sage webinar is a great chance to learn what about the current state of the NLRB and what the implications are for small & midsized businesses. The webinar will offered May 24th (Tuesday), 25th (Wednesday), and 26th (Thursday), giving plenty of options to fit into your schedule.

NLRB - Should You Be Concerned?

This live webcast will introduce you the changes taking place within the National Labor Relations Board. Small to mid-size employers are more likely than ever to be affected by the board's actions and the growing labor movement in the U.S. Participants will learn: What legal actions the NLRB is currently taking that may affect your company How the NLRB is actively affecting employees' access to unions through newly proposed regulations What actions companies should be engaging in now before a union targets your workforce This webcast has been approved for 1.00 (General) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute (www.hrci.org).

May 24 & 25, 2011 2:00PM - 3:00PM Eastern Time 11:00AM - 12:00PM Pacific Time

May 26, 2011 1:00PM - 2:00PM Eastern Time 10:00AM - 11:00PM Pacific Time

Click here to sign up for any of the three sessions

Sage Webcast On Tuesday For Compliance

Sage is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, May 10th at 2PM EST on how to have an HR system that meets all compliance requirements. This webinar is of intrest to both current Abra users and people who want to learn more about compliance. If you are already using Sage Abra, join us to learn best practices for compliance. Cost-Effective Compliance: What It Consists Of and How to Achieve It

 

Compliance -- the very thought of implementing an HR "compliance system" typically strikes terror in the minds of HR managers and IT professionals alike. Attend this live webcast and learn what an HR "best practice" compliance system consists of, its benefits to your HR organization, and how to achieve it cost-effectively.

May 10, 2011 11:00AM - 12:00PM Pacific Time 2:00PM - 3:00PM Eastern Time Click here to sign up

Upcoming Sage Webcast on HR Metrics

Sage is running a webcast next week on the topic of HR Metrics. The hour long live webcast will focus on providing HR professionals with the tools to effectively communicate with C-level executives.  You’ll learn how to speak the language of business through metrics for staffing, compensation, and benefits to effectively evaluate and improve performance within the HR function. For those of you who already use Sage Abra HRMS, this is a great chance for a refresher on the powerful functionality of the HR tools that you use every day.

Here's what Sage has to say about HR metrics:

A company is only as good as its human resources management but sometimes businesses and managers may not see it that way. Thanks to HR metrics however, human resources professionals can show their direct impact on a business and its profitability.

Having metrics in place is like finally using a scale when on a diet. Sure, it looks like you’ve lost weight and all of your efforts seem to be having an effect on your waist line, but there’s no way to be sure of the exact impact without a clear way to measure it. Hop on a scale and your weight loss goes from “I look great” to “I lost 10 pounds!”

Metrics for HR allow businesses to see tangible evidence of where staffing, compensation and benefit policies are working and where there is room for improvement. Areas that are often measured include turnover, open positions, employee engagement, cost per hire, cost per healthcare plan and customer feedback scores.

Human resource planning is essential to a business’s success, and metrics allow companies to have a more accurate way to measure HR success. Before, HR departments were mostly measured on how long it took to fill a vacant position, but today, we have so many more ways to weigh success.

There are three possible times you can participate in this webcast: March 29^th, at 2:00pm (EST); March 30th, at 1:00pm (EST); and March 31st, at 2:00pm (EST).

Follow this link to sign up for Measuring Up: Using Metrics to Meet and Exceed Expectations. 

 

Daylight Savings Begins March 13th

Daylight savings time is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 13th at 2:00 AM, but you don't have to be left in the dark about how to make a seemless transition in your EmpowerTime (Unitime) system. Make sure that your system is ready with Empower's useful guide to ensure that everything goes right not only next Sunday, when DST begins, and get a refresher on how to update hours for employees who are clocked in during the time shift.

Updating Holiday Dates in EmpowerTime (Unitime)

Holidays do not automatically roll forward at the end of a year because holiday dates can vary year to year. Once a holiday has passed and the pay period in which the holiday occurred has been closed, the date of the holiday should be rolled to the next year in each holiday class.

Mass Updating Holiday Dates

If multiple holiday classes are set up within a company, it is often faster to mass update dates rather than updating the dates in each holiday class separately. Several mass update options are available in the Holiday Classes drop-down menu in the Holiday Classes notebook, or from the Processes button located at the top of the Holiday Class Detail window.

These options are described below.

 

Duplicate Holiday Class Creates a new holiday class by duplicating all holiday class rules and dates. When enabled, UNITIME prompts for the holiday class to copy as well as the code for the new holiday class.

Duplicate Holiday Dates Copies holiday dates, descriptions, and hours from one holiday class to another. When enabled, UNITIME will prompt for the holiday classes.

Mass Add Date Adds a holiday date, description, and number of hours for all holiday classes set up in the current company.

Mass Delete Date Deletes a holiday from all holiday classes in the current company that have the date.

 

Make sure to backup you date prior to making these changes.

Sage Abra Tax Updates Forthcoming

Sage Abra Q4 2010 Quarterly Tax Updates expected to be delivered the week of December 27th

This Alert applies to Abra Suite and Abra SQL HRMS with Payroll

The Federal Government released 2011 tax rates as of Friday Dec 17th. In response to this release, Sage Abra Q4 2010 Quarterly Tax Updates are delayed and are expected to be delivered the week of Dec 27th. This delay is necessary to incorporate the federal tax rate updates in Q4 which will minimize customer confusion and avoid the need to apply a hot fix after the Q4 update has been delivered.

The Q4 2010 Quarterly Product Update for Abra Suite 7.7x, 7.8x and 9.0x, as well as, Abra SQL HRMS Payroll 8.5, 10.0 and 10.1 will contain the Social Security employee tax rate changes per the legislation passed and signed by President Obama on December 17, 2010. The full extent of this change is described as follows:

Under The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which was signed by President Obama on December 17, 2010, the employee's share of Social Security tax in 2011 will be reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%. Therefore, the maximum an employee would pay in Social Security tax (if the employee is paid at least the wage base of $106,800) is $4,485.60. Employers would continue to pay the full rate of 6.2% for a maximum of $6621.60 on at wage base of $106,800 for 2011.

In addition we are delaying the release to address the following:

• Employee Tax Rate for Railroad Tier 1 Reduced, Effective January 1, 2011
• Employee Tax Rate for Social Security Reduced, Effective January 1, 2011
• Federal Withholding Tax Changes, Effective January 1, 2011

All other tax items addressed in Q4 are documented in the Release Notes. Upon availability, both Sage Abra Suite Payroll customers and Sage Abra SQL HRMS Payroll customers will receive an alert notifying of availability to download the tax update from Support Plus Online.