A number of changes have been made to the AB 1513 Safe Harbor Report. You can use the Tools->Check for Updates option to download the latest version and get the following changes:
- For the “Actual” safe harbor method, the report will now calculate and total the interest due. A total interest amount will be printed for each employee (not each check) and at the end of the report.
Interest is calculated at 10% per year, which works out to 0.0273972% per day. The program calculates the number of days between the check date and today’s date on each check to determine the interest amount for each check. Because the interest amount is based on the date the report is run, and actual interest paid to employees will be based on when checks are issued, the actual interest amount will be more than what appears on this report if you choose to use this method.
- If an employee’s net break amount due is negative, the report will not include this negative amount in the report total.
- An option to print totals by grower account has been added for farm labor contractors. When this box is checked, the report will print a section listing totals by grower at the end of the report. If you are using the “Actual” method, the interest due for each grower will also be listed.
Due to rounding differences, the total break amounts due by grower may not agree exactly with the report total.
- An adjustment has been made to the regular rate of pay calculation. Hours needed to be adjusted for piecework wages that were paid without breaks.
- An adjustment has been made to hourly+incentive wages when breaks were paid separately. Previously, the program incorrectly credited breaks paid based on both the base hourly wages and the breaks paid separately. This has been changed so that the breaks paid are based on the break wages type paid separately.
- When using the “Actual” safe harbor method, if an employee was paid on a piecework basis but did not make minimum wage, an argument can be made that the employee is not due any additional wages for breaks. A checkbox has been added that will credit any minimum wage adjustment line items against the break wages due.
When calculating the actual wages due, if breaks were paid separately for these employees, the break wages would simply offset the minimum wage adjustments. IN other words, a lower minimum wage adjustment would have been added to the check. This results in the employee being paid the same amount as he originally was.
When this option is enabled, an asterisk will print next to the Breaks Paid amount on any days where minimum wages adjustments are credited against breaks due.
- The report can now include line item detail imported from other payroll/accounting systems. If you used another system, such as Famous, during the time period covered by the AB 1513 safe harbor provisions, we may be able to export data from that system and import it into our payroll system for reporting purposes.
Contact Datatech customer support for more information. Export/import jobs will be billed on an hourly basis.