When your employee head count fluctuates, you run the risk of encountering some serious pitfalls if you don’t adhere to the right regulations and compliance requirements.

Wondering what’s coming around the corner if you’re growing? Take a look at some of the major payroll requirements your business will face, and find out how our payroll and HR services can help.

For the first time since 2004, there are updated regulations and earnings thresholds for overtime pay.

How it impacts payroll:
You need to correctly classify employees as exempt or non-exempt and calculate the right amount of overtime pay required by these new regulations.

Potential consequences:

• Back-pay requirements
• Civil money penalties
• Criminal prosecution

First steps may include:

• Finding out which employees will be affected by the changes
• Deciding what changes to make regarding compensation amounts, hours worked, etc.

Heartland offers live, on-demand HR support.
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The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act requires that certain employers offer health insurance continuation to employees, former employees and dependents who’ve lost group health coverage due to specific events.

Potential consequences:

• IRS penalties of $100 a day, per beneficiary
• Civil lawsuits
• Legal fees and cost of proving compliance

First steps may include:

• Giving written notification about COBRA to all covered employees and dependents
• Maintaining records showing compliance
• Notifying the group health plan about a qualifying event within the specified time period

Applies to companies that currently offer a group health plan and had 20 or more employees on at least 50% of the typical business days in the last calendar year. A part-time employee is counted as a fraction of an employee.

The Affordable Care Act is the health care reform law that went into effect in 2010.

How it impacts payroll:
Your payroll records contain the hours and other information businesses must provide to the IRS for ACA compliance.

Potential consequences:

• Significant per-employee fines

First steps may include:

• Withholding and reporting an additional percentage of employee wages or compensation that exceeds $200,000
• Reporting the value of coverage on each employee’s W-2

Heartland can help you meet ACA requirements.
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The Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees to take paid or unpaid, job-protected leave for specified reasons, while continuing to receive health insurance coverage under the same terms.

How it impacts payroll:
Businesses that are subject to FMLA have to create and preserve specific records.

Potential consequences:

• Payments to the employee for any compensation or benefits loss due to the violation

First steps may include:

• Displaying required information about FMLA
• Making sure employees know their eligibility status

Affirmative action programs are required by law for certain employers who work with the federal government or who are using the program as a remedy for past discrimination.

Potential consequences:

• Significant fines
• Exclusion from working on government contracts

First steps may include:

• Maintaining adequate records that can be presented in case of an audit

The Equal Employment Opportunity Survey Filing is a compliance survey that gathers employment data related to ethnicity, race, gender and job category.

How it impacts payroll:
Employment data has to come from a single pay period within specified months of the current year.

Potential consequences:

• Being compelled to file your Equal Employment Opportunity Survey Filing by a U.S. District Court
• Potential legal fees

First steps may include:

• Correctly filing the report by the annual deadline

You’re also required to file a report if you’re owned by, affiliated with or controlled by a company with 100+ employees. In certain cases, companies with 50+ employees also have to file.