New Regulations Tripping Up Payroll

Shifting employee populations and regulations can make it difficult for businesses to keep up. But when those changes impact payroll, businesses, especially SMEs, can face costly consequences.

Payroll software firm Paychex pointed to the stress these factors are placing on small business owners this year with its latest research. The company announced Tuesday (Jan. 19) the results of its analysis, which uncover how quickly developing regulation means changing priorities when it comes to managing payroll.

The top regulatory priority for employers in 2016, Paychex found, is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Just before the start of the new year, regulators extended the ACA reporting deadlines for the 2015 tax year. That’s good news for some businesses that are falling behind, but for those that still can’t make deadline or file inaccurate information, stiff penalties can be on the way.

[bctt tweet=”The top regulatory priority for employers is the Affordable Care Act.”]

But there is other legislation giving employers and payroll managers a headache this year.

The second-top regulatory focus for these professionals is overtime regulation, Paychex found. The U.S. Department of Labor recently published proposed changes to this area of employee compensation, changing up the salary thresholds.

Minimum wage increases and changes in paid sick time law are also high on the list. Additional regulations and market changes that employers are eyeing include data privacy rules, worker classification and retirement policies, among others.

“Business owners have been inundated with proposed regulations that will affect how they pay employees in 2016,” said Paychex President and CEO Martin Mucci in a statement. “Paychex will continue to monitor these regulations — and others that emerge — to ensure employers understand how these issues impact their business.”