Human Resources

U.S. Department of Labor Withdrawing Independent Contractor Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the withdrawal – effective May 6 – of the “Independent Contractor Rule,” to protect workers’ rights to the minimum wage and overtime compensation protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department is withdrawing the rule for several reasons,...

10 May, 2021

From the HR Support Center: How to Help Employees Communicate More Effectively

In an ideal world, communication would be easy. We’d immediately know exactly what to say or write. Emails, Slack messages, and reply threads would practically write themselves. And there’d be no confusion about what anyone meant, ever. Of course, communication never works that way. We stare...

06 May, 2021

I’m a new ordained Minister. What are estimated tax payments?

For those just starting as Clergy, you may not be familiar with how clergy taxes are paid. The United States has a pay-as-you-go tax system. This means that the Internal Revenue Service expects you to pay your taxes throughout the year, rather than just making...

05 May, 2021

Are Your Employees Cross-Trained?

When employees quit or miss work for some reason, when layoffs become necessary, or even when it's just a matter of busy season, cross-trained employees can step in to minimize disruption. Simply put, cross-training is about showing employees how to do each other's jobs. Cross-Training Has...

03 May, 2021

From the HR Support Center: Key Practices to Keep the Workplace Safe

In 1970, when Richard Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act into law, an estimated 14,000 workers were killed on the job every year. Fifty years later, that number is down to 5,333, but safety in the workplace remains a paramount concern, and not...

29 April, 2021

Is a Minister’s Social Security Allowance Taxable?

Is a Minister's Social Security Allowance Taxable? Yes. Unlike non-clergy employees, clergy do not have Social Security or Medicare taxes taken out of their paycheck. The Church also does not pay any matching portion to IRS, so the Minister has to pay both halves, the employee...

28 April, 2021

Employee Overpayment Can Lead to Problems

You may have overpaid an employee because someone entered the wrong information into the system. Or maybe the employee or his or her supervisor submitted inaccurate data. Either way, this type of error is usually easily fixable. You do have to follow certain procedures, however. Reclaiming...

26 April, 2021

From the HR Support Center: Can I require employees to turn on their cameras during meetings?

Yes, generally, you can require employees to have their webcam on during meetings. You may, however, want to take things like low internet bandwidth, equipment failure, software incompatibility, mental health, environmental circumstances, privacy issues, and other reasonable concerns into account when setting expectations. For example,...

22 April, 2021

To avoid paying FICA or withholding income taxes, can churches classify paid workers as independent contractors?

No. Churches cannot classify paid workers as independent contractors in an effort to save money. They must follow the law. For a non-clergy employee, the church generally must withhold income and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes from the employee’s pay and deposit the taxes with...

21 April, 2021

IRS to Recalculate Taxes for Unemployment Break

Legislation signed in March allows taxpayers who earned less than $150,000 in modified adjusted gross income to exclude unemployment compensation up to $20,400 if married filing jointly and $10,200 for all other eligible taxpayers. The legislation excludes only 2020 unemployment benefits from taxes. Because the change...

19 April, 2021