Independent Contractor News

It’s old news that the Obama administration increased funding to the Department of Homeland Security’s ICE division (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).  It’s also been widely reported how this increased funding is being spent.  Like the Employer Compliance Inspection Center which houses a team that expressly targets I-9 audits of large businesses.  With all the press,…

Within the IRS and Department of Labor, red flags start flying from any number of triggers. Consider the example of a legal secretary who presented herself as an independent contractor to a prominent Colorado law firm. After her project with the firm ended, she filed for unemployment benefits. An investigation into her claim revealed she…

Sometimes it’s a good idea to get away from the office to recharge your batteries, to sharpen the axe, to network with colleagues, and to lose a few bucks in a casino. PayReel’s CEO and I managed to do just that last month in Las Vegas while attending an Executive Forum sponsored by Staffing Industry…

Once you get past all the legal jargon, it’s a really simple question:  Does the Constitution of the United States give Congress the power to compel every citizen to either purchase health insurance or pay a penalty? Our Supreme Court justices listened to arguments for three days in late March and are expected to hand down…

If you’ve come anywhere near an HR newsletter in the last six months, you know there’s a big crackdown in progress targeting misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  The heat has risen to the point where one piece of pending legislation would make misclassification a federal offense regardless of whether the infraction was intentional or…

The U.S. economy’s jobless recovery has improved over the past few months to a mostly jobless recovery.  While most pundits are cautiously optimistic about the employment outlook, employers in many states are still facing increases in unemployment insurance taxes.  Yes, you read that right.  Unemployment is down and unemployment insurance taxes are going up. Like…

Now that most of us are well onto our new year’s diets and beginning to rationalize away the more strenuous of our resolutions, let’s take a look at some topics that promise to be interesting reading in 2012 … Unemployment is down, but state and federal unemployment insurance tax rates are still heading up.  What’s…

At the risk of understatement, The Federal Affordable Care Act of 2010 (or, depending on your politics, ObamaCare) has become a sort of a lightning rod issue. One of the more controversial elements of the act is the assessment of taxes on businesses that choose not to offer their employees health insurance coverage.  If your…

(I’m turning over this week’s post to Lisa Cobb, Payroll Supervisor at PayReel.  See you next time!  AB) Last week I attended a Leadership Certificate Program in Washington D.C.  What I took away from the three days is how true leadership differs from good old-fashioned management. Our instructor, Martin Armstrong, is retired military and served…

I hear so much about changes in hiring practices … Fewer full-time positions, more project-oriented, “we’ll call you when we need you” jobs.  Funny thing is many young, culturally diverse people coming into the workforce don’t necessarily want to be anchored to a single employer.  They certainly aren’t looking for the 8-to-5, half-hour-lunch, 2-week- vacation…

Let me begin by saying what this blog isn’t. It’s not a way for payroll professionals to stay up-to-date on pending legislation. It’s also not a thinly veiled attempt to sell you something. It’s not particularly well constructed or worthy of being plagiarized. It is, on the other hand, a good read for busy people…