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On July 24, 2018, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced that it had issued more than 5,200 I-9 audit Notices of Inspection (NOIs) nationwide since January of 2018 as part of a two-phase operation. The second phase of the operation was conducted from July 16 to July 20, during which HSI agents served 2,738 NOIs and …
Continue reading “Increasing I-9 Audits and the Risks of Turning a Blind Eye”
On July 5, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published new guidance dated June 28, 2018 regarding when officers should issue a “Notice to Appear” (NTA). An NTA is essentially a notification to a foreign national in the United States (U.S.) that the government has determined that he or she is “removable” from the …
Continue reading “New USCIS ‘Deportation’ Policy May Impact Legal Foreign Workers”
Many employers had long assumed that they could fund contributions to qualified plans made to avoid violating nondiscrimination rules from employee forfeiture accounts. Recently, the IRS finalized helpful new guidance to employers clarifying that forfeitures can be used fund these contributions. QNECs, QMACs and Safe Harbor Contributions Tax-qualified defined contribution plans (e.g., 401(k) and profit …
Continue reading “IRS Permits the Use of Forfeitures for QNECs, QMACs and Safe Harbor Contributions”
Non-profit entities, including schools and universities, that sponsor 403(b) retirement plans should begin the process of restating their plans to comply with current law. This is the first restatement cycle since the December 31, 2009 deadline for sponsors of 403(b) plans to adopt written plan documents. A 403(b) plan is similar to a 401(k) plan …
Continue reading “Time for Non-Profits to Update Their 403(b) Retirement Plans”
For many years, plan sponsors could regularly get a determination letter from the IRS to ensure that their individually-designed qualified retirement plan met all of the requirements for favorable tax treatment. However, in 2017 the IRS ended that practice. Since that time, plan sponsors have had no mechanism by which to confirm that their plans …
In the past, employers have been able to deduct expenses related to “qualified transportation fringe benefits” (“QTFBs”) such as qualified parking, transit passes, transportation in commuter highway vehicles, or qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements. Pub. L. No. 115-97, commonly referred to as the “2017 Tax Act” or the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (“TCJA”), however, has …
Continue reading “Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits No Longer Deductible for Employers”
Many applicable large employers received an unpleasant surprise earlier this year when they received Letter 226-J, which imposed an employer shared responsibility payment (ESRP) under Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code on Forms 1094-C and/or 1095-C filed for the 2015 calendar year. Employers were required to respond to Letter 226-J within a short 30-day …
Continue reading “ACA Employer Penalty Tax Update: Responding to Letter 227”
On June 6, 2018, the Michigan Legislature repealed the state’s Prevailing Wage Act through the Michigan Repeal Prevailing Wages and Fringe Benefits on State Projects Initiative (the “Initiative”). Michigan’s Prevailing Wage Act required project owners to pay workers union-scale wages and benefits for state-funded construction projects. The repeal took effect on June 6, but it …
Given the ever-expanding landscape of privacy laws and regulations, employers are becoming increasingly aware that they are responsible for data breaches caused by their employees. When looking to formally put obligations upon employees to modify employee conduct, employers tend to start with policy, such as in an employee handbook to allow a means of internal …
Continue reading “How Employers Can Handle their Biggest Threat to Data Privacy, Their Employees”
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued its 2018 Special 301 Report in April, which identifies U.S. trading partners that do not sufficiently protect and enforce intellectual property (IP) rights or otherwise deny market access. The USTR Special Report lists the following 12 countries on the Priority Watch List: Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, India, …
Continue reading “MISSION CREEP – Chinese Trade Skirmishes Lead to Visa Retaliation on June 11”