Payroll Gains Expected to Pick Up According to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, employment increased by 146,000 workers in January, 2011, after a 103,000 gain in December. Economists also project the jobless rate could increase from 9.5 percent to 9.4 in January 2011. Eighty five economists were surveyed. Payroll gains most likely picked up in January, even after the winter storms. Economists say this shows the U.S. recovery is strengthening.   As customers spend, and exports and business investments increase, companies like Ford and Emerson Electronic are hiring. However, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is said to be still concerned the pick-up in growth is not cutting unemployment quickly, which is one reason central bankers have said they will continue with the plan to drive another $600 billion into the economy.   The projected increase would mean for 21 consecutive months, joblessness has exceeded 9 percent. That’s the longest stretch of elevated unemployment since monthly ...

Payroll Tax Cut Proposed A senator from Ohio has proposed a major payroll tax cut for employers. Republican Rob Portman proposed a one-year, two-percentage-point reduction in payroll taxes that are paid by employers. The senator says he backs the payroll-tax reduction already in place for employees, but believes giving employers the same break is fair and would help create jobs (possibly 1.4 million a year in the U.S.).   The cost would be $110 billion. Portman maintains the price tag on the bill would be more than offset by getting rid of the healthcare law’s mandate for people to buy insurance. He contends the bill would actually reduce the federal deficit by $85 billion.   The Congressional Budget Office says the savings from repealing the mandate would result in a rise in the number of uninsured Americans (to 39 million in 2019, from the 23 million projected under the current law).   Modern Business Associates is an HR company that focuses on payroll and HR outsourcing.&nbs ...

  New Outsourcing Standards These days, more and more companies are outsourcing business functions. Services being outsourced include a wide variety of HR services (benefits, risk management, payroll processing, etc.), as well as accounting, IT data center hosting, printing services, processing orders and more. While outsourcing helps process business operations, there is also a risk work is not being controlled or governed. Because of this, new standards for U.S. and International service organizations will soon be implemented.   The new standard, Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 16, goes into effect June 15, 2011. There are certain things companies can discuss with a service auditor now to be sure they are prepared for the new standards. Try to implement the new standards as soon as possible. Determine the implications of an SSAE 16 report for your company. Figure out if a U.S. or international report would be necessary. Determine any risks. ...

New Law Bans Genetic Screening for Employment   A new Federal law prohibits employers from doing genetic screening on job applicants or employees for jobs. This comes after concerns over possible misuse of genetic information by both employers and insurers. It is now illegal to discriminate against anyone based on their genetic information.  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently created detailed regulations for the employment portion of the law (which was added to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008).   Over the last 20 years, genetic research has advanced quickly. In 2003, scientists mapped out the human genome, which equals all of the genes that make up humans. Scientists say these advances, as well as family histories, make it possible for people to learn their potential to develop certain medical conditions sooner than ever. Since treatments for some conditions can be extremely expensive, concerns over the possible misuse of genetic inform ...

  Blank Bill of Sale Form If you find yourself needing a blank bill of sale form to buy or sell anything from a business, to equipment and goods, to cars and personal property, the following information will help save you time and money! Bills of sale are an important record-keeping device for both the seller and the buyer. It’s also an important tool for inventory control and income recording. Even if you still use hand written records, be sure to include the following bill of sale form tips. Print the bill of sale form with the name of your business (or your name if it’s personal). If it is a blank bill of sale, you can list your information as “seller.” Each bill of sale should have its own assigned number. If you have the bill of sale professionally printed or use a box of receipts, be sure they are consecutively numbered (this is for dating and accounting purposes). The bill of sale should include the customer’s name, address, phone number, payment ...