Paying Employees from Start to Finish and Everywhere in Between 2.0 CPE

Paying employees in compliance with federal and state wage and hour laws doesn’t just happen. It takes knowledge, planning and careful execution. From the time an employee is hired until the day the employee terminates regulations must be followed regarding the timing and issuance of his or her paycheck. It starts the day the employee is hired by determining if there are any notices concerning payday that must be furnished or personal notices that the employee must receive concerning their pay amounts and deductions. It continues until the final check is cut and deciding whether or not vacation pay must be included. There is also a vast amount of regulations in between those two events. The decisions on paying employees is not just made when a company is founded or merged or acquired but it is something that must be constantly monitored to ensure company compliance with changing regulations and technology.

One example of this type of on-going decision making concerns the means by which the company pays its employees. Is the company currently using paper checks but feels it could be more efficient and cost effective to require direct deposit or paycards? Can this be done legally is the question put to payroll.

Even areas as simple as employee paystubs can cause concern. What must a paystub include or does the employer even need to provide one? Can the employer force an employee to receive an electronic paystub instead of a paper one? These are frequently asked questions by employers that need answers.

And, of course, the one area that is always in constant flux from new legislation and court cases is whether or not vacation pay must be paid out when an employee terminates. Can the employer still follow their current policy or does it need a new one for certain states?

This course focuses on the above questions and more as we focus on paying employees from the time they are hired until the date they terminate.

Course Key Concepts: Payroll, wage payments, paydays, terminating employees, paying employees, paychecks, direct deposit, paycards, paystubs.

Prerequisites

No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.

Learning Objective

• Recognize the frequency of wage payment rules.
• Explore the paystub regulations state by state.
• Discover the required or permitted lag time between closing the payroll and distributing the check.
• Identify the payment methods permitted by state laws including cash, check, direct deposit and paycard.
• Explore the requirements for paying terminating employees including whether or not to include accrued vacation pay.

Last updated/reviewed: March 6, 2024