Continuing Payroll Problem only. If students are required to prepare written answers to

1–1 © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

CHAPTER 1

Note: Working space and special forms are provided for the Practical Problems and the Continuing Payroll Problem only. If students are required to prepare written answers to the Questions for Review, Questions for Discussion, and Case Problems, blank paper should be provided.Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, students should be able to:

• Identify the various laws that affect employers in their payroll operations.
• Examine the recordkeeping requirements of these laws.
• Describe the employment procedures generally followed in a Human Resources

Department.

• Recognize the various personnel records used by businesses and know the type of

information shown on each form.

• Identify the payroll register and the employee’s earnings record.

Contents

Chapter 1 outline:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

THE PAYROLL PROFESSION

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT

FEDERAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS ACT

INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING LAWS

UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACTS

RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS

FAIR EMPLOYMENT LAWS

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Executive Orders Age Discrimination in Employment Act Americans with Disabilities Act

OTHER FEDERAL LAWS AFFECTING THE NEED FOR PAYROLL AND PERSONNEL

RECORDS

Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 E-Verify Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 Payroll Accounting 2016 26th Edition Bieg Solutions Manual Visit TestBankDeal.com to get complete for all chapters

1–2 Payroll Accounting © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Disclosure Requirements Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA)

OTHER STATE LAWS AFFECTING THE NEED FOR PAYROLL AND PERSONNEL

RECORDS

Workers’ Compensation Laws State Disability Benefit Laws

HUMAN RESOURCES AND PAY ROLL ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS

HUMAN RESOURCES SYSTEM

Job Descriptions Requisition for Personnel Application for Employment Reference Inquiry Hiring Notice Employee History Record Change in Payroll Rate Terminating an Employee

RECORDKEEPING SYSTEM

Employee Access—Personnel Files

PAYROLL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

Payroll Register Employee’s Earnings Record Paycheck Outsourcing Payroll

KEY TERMS

KEY POINTS SUMMARY

Matching Quiz (p. 1–25)

• B
• D
• F
• A
• H
• I
• J
• C
• E
• G

Chapter 1 1–3 © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.Questions for Review (p. 1–25)

• The Fair Labor Standards Act sets the minimum wage rate, and the current mini-

mum wage rate is $7.25 an hour.

• To meet the requirements of the FLSA, the employer must keep records providing

the following information with respect to each employee’s wages earned:

• Day and time of day when workweek begins
• Regular hourly rate of pay
• Basis of wage payments
• Hours worked each day
• Hours worked each week
• Daily or weekly straight-time pay
• Amount and nature of exempt pay
• Weekly overtime pay
• Total additions to or deductions from wages
• Total remuneration for payroll period
• Date of payment
• Payroll period

• FICA levies taxes on employers and employees to finance the Federal Old-Age and

Survivors’ Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Health In- surance Plan—Medicare. SECA also imposes taxes on the net earnings of the self- employed individual.

• The taxes paid to the federal government (FUTA tax) are used to pay the state and

federal administrative expenses incurred in operating the overall unemployment in- surance program. The taxes paid to the various state governments (SUTA tax) are used to pay the unemployment compensation benefits to the qualified unemployed workers.

• The unfair employment practices prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as

amended, include:

• Discriminating in hiring, firing, promoting, compensating, or in any other condition

of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.

• Unions may not include or segregate union members on these bases.
• Employment agencies may not refer or refuse to refer applicants for employment

on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.

• The purpose of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is to prohibit

discrimination on the basis of age in the employment practices of employers, employment agencies, and labor unions that are engaged in an industry affecting interstate commerce.

1–4 Payroll Accounting © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• A key exception is executives who are 65 or older and who have held high policy-

making positions during the two-year period prior to retirement. If such an employee is entitled to an annual retirement benefit from the employer of at least $44,000, he or she can be forcibly retired.

• The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act covers laborers for contractors who furnish

materials, supplies, articles, and equipment to any agency of the United States, provided the minimum contract amount is $10,000.

• OSHA sets specific occupational and health standards for employers and requires

that records be kept of work-related injuries, illnesses, and death.

• The employer is required to offer the employee as many as 12 weeks of unpaid

leave. The leave may be used all at once, or in separate weeks, days, or hours.

• ERISA was designed primarily to ensure that workers covered by private pension

plans receive benefits from those plans in accordance with their credited years of service with their employers.

• Vesting conveys to employees the right to share in a retirement fund in the event they

are terminated before the normal retirement age. The vesting process is linked to the number of years needed for workers to earn equity in their retirement plans and to become entitled to full or partial benefits at some future date if they leave the company before retirement. Once vested, a worker has the right to receive a pension at retirement age, based on years of covered service, even though the worker may not be working for the firm at that time.

• The administrator must furnish a statement, not more than once in a 12-month

period, of the total benefits accrued and accrued benefits that are vested, if any, or the earliest date on which these accrued benefits will become vested.

• The procedure that may be followed by the Human Resources Department in hiring

new employees is:

• Receive request for new employee.
• Examine applications.
• Interview applicants.
• Administer tests.
• Check references.
• Select and notify successful applicant.
• Send information to Payroll Department.
• Prepare personnel file.
• The application for employment form may provide information such as the following:
• Personal information, including name, address, telephone number, and social

security number

• Educational background, including a summary of the schools attended, whether

the applicant graduated, and degrees conferred

• Employment and experience record
• Type of employment desired
• References