Travel expenses. The 2020 standard mileage rate for transportation expenses is 57.5 cents per mile for all miles related to business use, down from 58 cents per mile in 2019. The rate, which is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, is reflected in the Benefits category. See the Quick Answers at ¶11,705 and the Analysis and Guidance at ¶11,743 under the “Company Vehicles” topic, the Analysis and Guidance at ¶13,912 under the “Fringe Benefits” topic, and the Quick Answers at ¶17,902 under the “Transportation Benefits” topic.

Wage and hour compliance. The U.S. Department of Labor has issued three opinion letters that address the following issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA):

• how to calculate overtime pay for a non-discretionary lump sum bonus paid at the end of a multi-week training period; 
• whether a combined general health district must count the employees of the county in which the health district is located for the purpose of determining FMLA eligibility for its employees; and
•  whether per-project payments satisfy the salary basis test under FLSA Sec. 13(a)(1) and applicable regulations.
  
  

The letters can be accessed from the Quick Answers at ¶21,505 in the Compensation category under the “FLSA Enforcement” topic.

Federal contractors. Federal contractors must post a minimum wage notice for employees working on or in connection with a covered contract whose wages are governed by the FLSA. The poster for 2020, which must be displayed in a prominent and accessible place at the worksite, is reproduced in the Sample Document at ¶24,090 in the Compensation category under the “Minimum Wage” topic.

Payroll tax withholding. The IRS released its final version of Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, which includes percentage method and wage-bracket method withholding tables for 2020, along with employer instructions. The tables allow employers to figure withholding based on a Form W-4 for an earlier year as well as the redesigned 2020 Form W-4. Check them out in the Compensation category under the “Payroll Taxes and Withholding” topic as follows:

• Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems (¶25,374);
• Wage Bracket Method Tables for Manual Payroll Systems with Forms W-4 from 2020 or Later (¶25,375);
• Wage Bracket Method Tables for Manual Payroll Systems with Forms W-4 from 2019 or Earlier (¶25,376);
• Percentage Method Tables for Manual Payroll Systems with Forms W-4 from 2020 or Later (¶25,377); and
• Percentage Method Tables for Manual Payroll Systems with Forms W-4 from 2019 or Earlier (¶25,378).

The IRS also reissued the 2020 version of Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, with a few changes. In the general instructions in the paragraph beginning with “Exemption from Withholding,” the last sentence has been changed from “Then complete Steps 1a, 1b, and 5.” to “Then complete Steps 1(a), 1(b), and 5.” In the deductions worksheet on Page 3 under Step 4(b), line 1, the percent of income (by which deductions exceed income) in the last line is reduced from 10% to 7.5%. Also on Page 3 under Step 4(b), line 4, “Part II” has been inserted in the text “(from Part II of Schedule 1 (Form 1040 or 1040-SR)).” The 2020 Form W-4 is discussed in the Analysis and Guidance at ¶25,564 and ¶25,564A, and reproduced in the Sample Document at ¶25,702. Look in the Compensation category under the “Payroll Taxes and Withholding” topic.

In related news, the IRS has launched an Income Tax Withholding Assistant for Employers, an online tool that helps small businesses determine the right amount of federal income tax to withhold from their workers' pay. The spreadsheet-based tool was designed to help employers transition to the revised withholding system that took effect on January 1, 2020. The assistant is for employers who would otherwise figure withholding manually using a worksheet with either the percentage method or wage-bracket method tables found in Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods. Employers that use an automated payroll system do not need to use the assistant. Learn more about it in the Tool at ¶25,767 in the Compensation category under the “Payroll Taxes and Withholding” topic.

Payroll tax deposits. Information about payroll tax deposits, located in the Compensation category under the “Payroll Taxes and Withholding” topic, has been revised as follows:

• Tax deposit dates for monthly and semiweekly depositors were updated for 2020. Refer to the Quick Answers at ¶25,430, ¶25,432, and ¶25,434.
• Discussions of the one-day accelerated tax deposit rule and tax deposit shortfalls now include examples for 2020. See the Quick Answers at ¶25,436 and ¶25,438.
• Deposit rules pertaining to nonpayroll items, such as pensions, were updated in the Quick Answers at ¶25,474.

Ministerial exception. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a pair of Ninth Circuit cases that address the First Amendment’s ministerial exception. The question presented is whether the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment prevent civil courts from adjudicating employment discrimination claims brought by employees against religious employers, where the employees carried out important religious functions. The cases — St. James School v. Biel and Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru — were consolidated for one hour of oral argument. The development is noted in the Quick Answers at ¶36,715 and the Analysis and Guidance at ¶36,903, both located in the Discrimination and Retaliation category under the “Religion and Belief” topic.

Relocation assistance. The standard mileage rate for moving expenses is 17 cents per mile in 2020, down from 20 cents per mile in 2019. Note, however, that the tax exclusion and deduction for qualified moving expense reimbursements are suspended until 2026 — except for members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty who move pursuant to a military order and incident to a permanent change of station. This year’s rate is reflected in the Analysis and Guidance at ¶88,540 in the Staffing category under the “Relocation” topic.

©2020 CCH Incorporated and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

By Pete Tosh, The Focus Group