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  • Apr 04 / 2020
What's New

USCIS Releases New Form I-9, Instructions

On January 31, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, along with the updated instructions. Employers must begin using the new version of Form I-9 (dated October 21, 2019) by April 30, 2020 [85 F.R. 5683, 1-31-20].

Employers should begin using the new Form I-9 immediately, but USCIS allows employers 90 days to make necessary updates and adjust their business processes for the new version.

  • Apr 04 / 2020
What's New

DOL Announces Annual Adjustments for FLSA, FMLA Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released inflation adjustments to the civil penalties for violations of certain laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) [85 F.R. 2292, 1-15-20]. The new amounts apply only to civil penalties assessed after January 15, 2020, whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015.

Here are some of the inflation adjustments for 2020:

  • FLSA minimum wage and overtime penalties.The penalty for willful violations of the minimum wage and overtime provisions increases from $2,014 to $2,050.
  • FLSA child labor penalties:
    •  Child labor violation penalties increase from $12,845 to $13,072.
    • Penalties for child labor violations resulting in serious injury or death increase from $58,383 to $59,413.
    • Penalties for child labor violations that are willful and result in serious injury or death increase from $116,766 to $118,826.
  • FMLA. The penalty for willfully failing to comply with the FMLA notice requirements increases from $173 to $176.
  • Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. The daily liquidated damages fine remains at $27.

Courtesy APA

  • Apr 04 / 2020
What's New

IRS Releases 2020 Publication 15-T

The IRS released the 2020 Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, which describes how to figure withholding using the Percentage Method and the Wage Bracket Method and also describes alternative methods for figuring withholding. The publication explains how to withhold income tax based on pre-2020 Forms W-4 and 2020 Forms W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate.

  • Apr 04 / 2020
What's New

Business Standard Mileage Rate Decreases to 57.5 Cents in 2020

The IRS announced that the business standard mileage rate for transportation expenses paid or incurred beginning January 1, 2020, will be 57.5 cents per mile, down 0.5 cents from 2019 [Notice 2020-05, 12-31-19].

The mileage rate may be used to compute the amount to reimburse employees who are using their own cars for business purposes. It may also be used by employers that elect to use the “cents-per-mile” valuation method for purposes of determining the amount that needs to be imputed to an employee’s income for personal use of certain company-owned or leased nonluxury vehicles. However, it may not be used by employees in claiming a tax deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses, since such deductions are suspended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

In addition, the 2020 standard rate for miles driven for medical or moving purposes will decrease to 17 cents per mile, down from the 20 cents-per-mile rate in effect during 2019. The standard mileage rate for operating a passenger car for charitable purposes, which is set by law, will stay at 14 cents per mile.

For vehicles put into service in 2020, the cents-per-mile valuation method can be used only if the vehicle does not have a fair market value of more than $50,400 (unchanged from 2019). For employer-provided vehicles under the fleet-average valuation rule, applicable to an employer with a fleet of 20 or more automobiles, the 2020 maximum value is $50,400 for an automobile (unchanged from 2019). Note:The fleet-average valuation rule may not be used if any of the automobiles in the employer’s fleet exceeds its maximum allowable value.

Courtesy APA

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