Collecting IOUs for the
IRS
If you open a letter from the IRS directing you to withhold an
employee's wages to pay for his or her back taxes,
congratulations. You've just become our nation's newest
(unpaid) revenue collection agent.
Don't worry, the employee received notification weeks before
you did, says Kelly Wiessner, payroll editor at human resources Web
portal Firstdoor.com. You
may not be breaking the bad news, but your collection-agent status
could poison your relationship with the employee-unless you take
certain precautions.
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"It's a bad idea to execute the process in a clinical
manner," says Wiessner. That means it may not be a good idea
to hand the matter over to your payroll specialist. Instead, give
it to the person who specializes in sensitive issues such as
firings-who, of course, may be you.
Over the next few months, don't assume a failure to pay
taxes implies anything about your employee's ability to work
well at your company. (After all, a medical condition or an
estranged spouse could be to blame.) "An employee would have a
good case if any discrimination occurred on account of this,"
says Wiessner.
Finally, help your worker find solutions to his or her
IRS-induced cash crunch. If the employee has direct deposit, says
Wiessner, ask whether any automatic withdrawals might bounce due to
the decreased funds. Your employee may thank you later for
remembering crucial details.
Hot (Jobs) for Teacher
With summer now starting, you may be one of many entrepreneurs
welcoming students into your business as seasonal employees. You
could take that idea one step further. Teachers enjoy the same
flexible summer schedule as students, and not all of them choose to
travel during their summer breaks.
"[A summer job is] an excellent way for teachers to
experience something other than teaching," says Craig
Allmendinger, vice president and co-founder of SeasonalJobs.net, a Web site that
helps bring together seasonal employers and potential
employees.
Even if your needs don't obviously correspond with the
skills or job preferences a teacher might have, don't assume
this is a resource you can't tap. Though they say the best
reasons to be a teacher are June, July and August, you may discover
these folks to be willing, talented workers who'd rather make
money than vacation.
Chris Sandlund is a former editor of Success magazine.
E-mail him at chrissandlund@entrepreneur.com.