Requirement for Work Permits for 14- and 15-Year Olds Temporarily Waived

Are you hiring 14- and 15-year olds to work in your business? Last month Governor Evers temporarily waived the under-16 labor work permit requirement before teens can begin to work for you. This work permit holiday is in effect for the duration of the public health emergency.

You will still need All of the following documentation in order to be in compliance and file for the permit once the order expires:

• Proof of age (Birth certificate, baptismal certificate, Wisconsin ID card or Wisconsin driver’s license, or other evidence allowed by Wis. Admin. Code § DWD 270.07(4),
• Employer’s written intent to hire, including job duties to be performed and the hours and time of day to be worked, signed by the employer or someone duly authorized by the employer,
• Written consent from the minor’s parent, guardian or court-ordered foster parent consenting to the employment or a countersignature of the parent, guardian, or foster parent on the employer’s letter, AND
• A copy of the minor’s social security card

Once the order expires, you’ll have 30 days to file a permit application on behalf of each minor employee you hired and permitted to work under this exception.

T-Rex, Run!

Google Chrome users are probably familiar with the T-Rex dinosaur that shows up when your computer is not connected to the Internet. The T-rex had short arms and therefore lot of things were out of its reach. Chrome, like that dinosaur, is having trouble reaching the Internet.

What’s even more interesting is that the offline dinosaur in Chrome is also a game. Press the space bar to activate and your Chrome tab will quickly turn into a moderately addictive game. The T-Rex will run and your mission is to prevent it from bumping into the saguaros (cactus) by pressing the space bar to jump. Watch out for the birds!

The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) reopens today.

Updated DOL/IRS Guidance on Required Documentation

To Claim Tax Credits

for COVid19 Related Paid Leave Payments

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave and paid leave under the Expanded FMLA provisions in the Families First Act established five primary “qualifying reasons” justifying up to 80 hours of Emergency Paid Sick Leave:

1. Quarantine or isolation order by federal, state, or local authorities related to COVID-19
2. Employee has been advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider due to concerns related to COVID–19. (Note: this could include advice based solely on an employee’s high-risk status, with no exposure to an infected person or symptoms of infection.)
3. Employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking medical diagnosis
4. Employee is caring for an individual who is quarantined
5. Due to school or childcare closures, an employee is unable to work to care for children

Up to 10 weeks of Expanded FMLA Paid Leave may be taken, but only for reason No. 5 above.

Employers making payments under this Act are entitled to reimbursement in the form of quarterly tax credits on their federal payroll taxes. The Department of Labor has indicated that in order for employees to be eligible for these paid leave benefits, and for employers to be eligible for reimbursement via quarterly tax credits, employers must obtain specific documentation, established by the Internal Revenue Service, from employees requesting either type of paid leave.

The IRS released guidance last week specifying the documentation that will be needed for employers to receive these tax credits. These guidelines require that each employee seeking leave must provide written documentation containing the following information in connection with their request for Paid Sick Leave (“PSL”) or Emergency Family and Medical Leave (“EFMLA”): (1) employee’s name; (2) the date or dates for which leave is requested; (3) the “qualifying reason” for the leave; and (4) a statement that the employee is unable to work (either on-site or via telework) because of the qualified reason for leave.

Employees must also provide additional documentation depending on the reason for taking the PSL or EFMLA:

• To take PSL because the employee is quarantined, the employee must also provide the name of the government entity that issued the quarantine or isolation order.
• To take PSL because the employee has been told to self-quarantine, the employee must also provide the name of the health care provider who advised the employee to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
• To take PSL because the employee is caring for an individual for COVID-19 reasons, the employee must also provide either: (1) the name of the government entity that issued the quarantine or isolation order to which the individual being cared for is subject; or (2) the name of the health care provider who advised the individual being cared for to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19. The IRS Guidelines further require that the employee provide the name of the individual being cared for and his or her relation to the employee.
• To take PSL or EFMLA to care for a son or daughter due to school or childcare closure, the employee must also provide: (1) the name and age of the son or daughter; (2) the name of the school, place of care, or child care provider that has closed or become unavailable; and (3) a representation that no other suitable person will be caring for the son or daughter during the period for which the employee takes PSL or EFMLA. Additionally, with respect to the employee’s inability to work or telework because of a need to provide care for a child older than 14 during daylight hours, the IRS requires a statement that “special circumstances” exist requiring the employee to provide care.

Additional Employer Records and Documentation Required to Obtain the Tax Credit

In addition to the information set forth above, employers must also create and maintain (for four years) records that include the following information:

• Documentation to show how the employer determined the amount of PSL and EFML wages paid to employees that are eligible for the credit, including records of work, telework, and qualified PSL and EFML.
• Documentation to show how the employer determined the amount of qualified health plan expenses that the employer allocated to wages.
• Copies of any completed Forms 7200, “Advance of Employer Credits Due To COVID-19,” that the employer submitted to the IRS.
• Copies of the completed Forms 941, “Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return,” that the employer submitted to the IRS (or, for employers that use third party payers to meet their employment tax obligations, records of information provided to the third party payer regarding the employer’s entitlement to the credit claimed on Form 941).

• What is Arbor Day and when is it celebrated?
  
  Arbor Day is an annual observance that celebrates the role of trees in our lives and promotes tree planting and care. As a formal holiday, it was first observed in 1872, in Nebraska, but tree planting festivals are as old as civilization. The tree has appeared throughout history and literature as the symbol of life.
  
  For many years, Arbor Day was celebrated on April 22, J. Sterling Morton’s birthday. Today, National Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April. All fifty states, Puerto Rico, and some U.S. territories have passed legislation adopting Arbor Day, which is celebrated on a date appropriate for tree planting in their region.
  
  Here are some suggestions on how to celebrate the day, courtesy of the Arbor Day Foundation:
  
  Celebrate Arbor Day in a personal way by planting a tree yourself. Plant trees on your own property, or volunteer with your local government agency to plant or care for trees on public land in your area.
  
  Read a book about trees, and learn to identify trees in your yard and neighborhood.
  
  Enjoy the outdoors. Visit a local park or take a nature hike, taking care to notice the different tree varieties you encounter. Bring along a field guide to help with identification.
  
  
  You can visit https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/treeplanting/order.html for more information on ordering seedling.
  

CoVid19 Company Policy

For those of you who are still open or will be allowed to open in the midst of the CoVid19 Pandemic, it is highly recommended that you create a company policy to help keep you and your employees safe.   You’ll want to give a copy of this to your employees and hang a copy in a common area for all to see (typically near the timeclock or in the breakroom).

Following is some verbiage that you are welcome to use and adjust to fit your specific situation.

                                                 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Company Policy

Policy brief & purpose

This company policy includes the measures we are actively taking to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

You are kindly requested to follow all these rules diligently, to sustain a healthy and safe workplace in

this unique environment. It’s important that we all respond responsibly and transparently to these health

precautions.  We assure you that we will always treat your private health and personal data with high

confidentiality and sensitivity.

This coronavirus (COVID-19) company policy is susceptible to changes with the introduction of

additional governmental guidelines.

Scope

This coronavirus policy applies to all of our employees who physically work in our facility.

Policy elements

Here, we outline the required actions employees should take to protect themselves and their co-workers

from a potential coronavirus infection.

Sick leave arrangements:

● If you have cold symptoms, such as cough/sneezing/fever, or feel poorly, request unpaid sick

leave or work from home.

● If you have a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, you can return to the office only after you’ve fully

recovered, with a doctor’s note confirming your recovery.

● If you’ve been in close contact with someone infected by COVID-19, with high chances of being

infected yourself, request work from home/or unpaid sick work leave. You will also be asked not

to come into physical contact with any colleagues during this time.

● If you’re a parent and you have to stay at home with your children, follow up with your manager

or departmental leader to make arrangements and set expectations.

● If you need to provide care to a family member infected by COVID-19. You’ll only be permitted to

return to the office 14 calendar days after your family member has fully recovered, provided that

you’re asymptomatic or you have a doctor’s note confirming you don’t have the virus. You will

also be asked not to come into physical contact with any colleagues during this time.

Traveling measures:

● All work trips and events will be cancelled/postponed until further notice.

● In-person meetings should be done virtually where possible, especially with non-company parties

(e.g. candidate interviews and partners).

● If you are planning to travel voluntarily to a high-risk country with increased COVID-19 cases,

we’ll ask you to work from home/ work leave for 14 calendar days. You will also be asked not to

come into physical contact with any colleagues during this time.

General hygiene rules:

● Wash your hands after using the bathroom, before eating, and if you cough/sneeze into your

hands (follow the 20-second hand-washing rule).

● Cough/sneeze into your sleeve, preferably into your elbow. If you use a tissue, discard it properly

and clean/sanitize your hands immediately.

● Avoid touching your face, particularly eyes, nose, and mouth with your hands to prevent from

getting infected.

● If you find yourself coughing/sneezing on a regular basis, avoid close physical contact with your

coworkers and take extra precautionary measures (such as requesting sick leave).

● Wipe down your workstation upon arrival and before leaving for the day.

● NO unauthorized personal is allowed in the facility. All doors are posted with a call information to

control facility entry.

● Maintain a 6-foot working area and if this cannot be maintained a mask will need to be worn.

● Cleaning supplies are available in the kitchen area.

According to the State of Wisconsin, you can require your employees to be paid via direct deposit rather than a paper check.  We strongly recommend you move in this direction, if you haven’t already done so.   

One hundred percent direct deposit is the way to go:

1. Data entry into your bookkeeping system becomes much more streamlined.
2. You no longer have to wait for employees to cash their checks.
3. Your employees no longer need to wait for their checks.
4. No more checks that went through the laundry and have to be reissued.
5. Your employees no longer need to go to the bank to cash their checks.
6. Your bank account information is much more secure.

We had a client who terminated an employee.  This employee decided to give herself a little severance pay by creating a new check after she had cashed her original check.  The company’s bookkeeper contacted us and asked us why we gave that employee another check.  We were able to confirm that the check did not come from us and that it was fraudulent. 

Had the company paid that employee via direct deposit, she would never have had access to the company’s checking account or the owner’s signature and this would never have happened.

Contact us to get your company set up with direct deposit for all employees.

We want to check in with you again during this unique time for all of us both professionally and personally.  We have somewhat absorbed the new COVID19 legislation designed to provide small businesses with lifelines to make it through this tough time and have assisted many of you, providing reports, copies of returns and other data so you could complete your application for the PPP Loan.  Many of you have successfully completed your applications and been approved. For those not yet approved and heard that the well has run dry – stay calm – more funding is expected. When you receive your funding, breathe a sigh of relief, crack a smile and get a good night’s sleep. While you are enjoying that feeling, please start from day one to think about the next steps. 

The PPP program has a highly desirable component to it, that being the potential for the loan to be fully forgiven.  This depends on how you utilize your funds over the eight weeks starting the day you are funded.  If you get funded tomorrow, April 21^st, your measurement period will end on June 16, 2020. Your use of funds during this eight-week period will determine how much, if any, of your loan will be forgiven. 

Basically, you must spend at least 75% of the funds on payroll. The remaining 25% can be used on rent and utilities. What constitutes “utilities” is still open for clarification which hopefully will come out shortly.  We obviously expect electric, water, gas, etc. to qualify, but the question is on internet, cell phones, etc. 

Our tip of the day??  KEEP ACCURATE RECORDS! 

Some banks are requiring a separate bank account to deposit the PPP funds, others not, and the funds go into your existing operating account.  Either way, you must keep extreme detail of what you use the loan funds for.  If you were required to have a new bank account and plan to just use the bank statements from that account as your back up, don’t use funds in that account to pay for things that won’t qualify for forgiveness such as, marketing, association dues, etc.  If the funds are commingled in your Operating account, somehow designate which expenses are being paid from the loan proceeds.  The more detail you put into it now, the easier it will be for you come late June, early July when you are applying for Loan Forgiveness. 

All the best to everyone.  We at WI Pay are here to help as much as we can, including tracking your payroll spending for you. 😊

W I Pay – Tip of the Day                                                                          

Be on guard people!

We just heard from a colleague that one of their employees received word from a “service” that was supposed to help him fast track his unemployment payments due to CoVid19. The employee, not knowing it was a scam, provided the “service” with the bank account information and the “service” proceeded to forge multiple checks worth thousands of dollars.

Please do not give any information over the phone or email to anyone who asks you for information.

Ever.

Under any circumstances.

#bettertogether

With companies hiring and firing and rehiring and employees filing tax returns and needing to change their federal exemptions we have been inundated with requests to “change the employee’s W-4 exemptions to Married and 2.  Sorry folks – no can do.  

For any changes to the federal W-4 the employee must complete the new form.  Following are instructions and a sample of the form. 

The form is a bit scary at first glance, but have no fear – an employee’s guide to the 2020 W-4 can be found by clicking on the following link:

https://wisconsinpay.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-Form-W-4.pdf

or by going to Wisconsin Pay’s website: 

www.wisconsinpay.com

Click on Employee Services

Click on Form W-4

You’ll see detailed instructions and the actual form.

You’re welcome!