Payroll Week runs from September 1 to September 5 this year. It “highlights the achievements and partnerships between America’s employees, payroll professionals, and various government programs and agencies,” according to PayrollOrg, which founded it in 1996. This week “honors and celebrates the hard work and dedication of America’s workers and the payroll professionals who ensure paychecks are accurate and on-time for millions of employees.”
What do you really know about payroll?
Archaeologists found a clay tablet from the early civilization of Sumer (modern Iraq) promising a specific quantity of beer to workers. It was written around 3000 BCE and is believed to be the first payroll receipt. Other records in ancient history find dates and grains were also used in payment. (Sometimes, things don’t change: many breweries give free or discounted beer to employees today.)
By the Middle Ages, early payroll managers used papyrus to keep track of payments in coin to skilled artisans and soldiers. With the dawn of the industrial revolution in the mid-18th century, we see the beginnings of modern payroll systems, requiring employers to keep track of attendance and new tax deductions.
Today, coins and even checks have largely disappeared. A recent survey showed that more than 95% of U.S. workers opt for direct deposit, saving them from the hassle of racing to the bank to deposit checks.
Who has the biggest payroll?
Your staff may be just you and an assistant. But payroll still has to be accurate and on time. And this only gets more complicated the bigger you get. Walmart is believed to have the largest corporate payroll list, with over 2 million employees. But even it is dwarfed by the U.S. government, with over 3 million workers. There is no single payroll entity for all those employees, but there is a U.S. Office of Personnel Management, with about 2,500 employees.
How about sports? In Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers payroll is the largest, with an estimated $340,511,169, followed by the New York Mets with $339,421,107 and the New York Yankees with $297,822,907.
Just how complicated is payroll?
Very. Never mind keeping track of overtime and exempt vs. nonexempt workers. States can have laws that many don’t know about. But payroll pros have to be experts.
For example:
- Arkansas employers must grant workers time off for organ or bone marrow donation.
- Nine states don’t have a state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
- Massachusetts allows you to start a fortune telling business, but you need a license. Fortune telling in New York is a class B misdemeanor.
- California mandates that companies grant parents 40 hours a year for activities related to their children’s school.
- The current federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour. However, many localities top this. The District of Columbia leads the way to a minimum wage of $17.50. Following it are Washington ($16.66), California ($16.50), and Connecticut ($16.35). New York state has more than one tier, with New York City and neighboring counties at an impressive $16.50.
Note that the above list is just a summary of a complex series of rules. Don’t make decisions or draw conclusions about your company until you’ve spoken with qualified professionals.
And enjoy your payroll week!