Have you noticed your credit card charges rising monthly? Most statements are hard to read and are meant to keep you in the dark. Each credit card used for payments has a certain wholesale cost that is paid to MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express.

Every credit card processor has to pay these mandated fees. The wholesale cost goes to the issuing bank. The cost difference is what the credit card company puts on top of wholesale.

Have you ever been a little unsure as to the classification of your employees as being exempt from overtime compensation, or being eligible for overtime compensation – which is called being “nonexempt”? This issue causes a tremendous amount of confusion for many employers, which can lead to major headaches, and oftentimes, monetary awards for back wages that are determined to be due by the Department of Labor (DOL).

Wage and Hour Investigations by the DOL have been increasing in recent years and actually set an all-time record in 2016. This area has seen aggressive scrutiny and focus by the DOL in recent years. Wage and hour cases are the most active types of litigation in the field of employment law. The year-to-year increases have become a pattern since 2000, going up by more than 450% since that time. Every employer must follow wage and hour laws to the fullest. There is no room for shortcut or a lax approach when dealing with employment laws.

So, what is the major mistake that many employers make that is getting them into hot water? There are actually two major mistakes and one of them revolves around misclassifying employees and how they have to be compensated. We will talk about that one in this article and then cover the other in our next newsletter.

Did you know the cost of a Security breach is much higher than the cost of protection?
Is your office protected against credit card breaches as well as chargebacks?

Every minute about 19 people fall victim to identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission reported in 2015 that identity theft has been the #1 reported crime for 15 years in a row. It continues to be the fastest growing crime in America. Whether using somebody’s social security number to open new accounts or illegally hacking into a bank account, all forms of identity theft can be serious and have different outcomes. Identity theft is not a new problem, but because so much of our personal information is stored electronically these days, this crime is happening more often, especially to children. Currently, the fastest growing segment of victims is children.

Today, identity theft encompasses more than credit cards and financial accounts. Tax identity theft claims more victims each year. Medical identity theft is another serious and growing problem – for both the patient and the providers. Whether your personal, financial, medical, tax, or child’s information has been stolen, correcting the problem is costly, time-consuming, and stressful.