Federal law requires overtime at the rate of 1-1/2 times the regular rate to be paid for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.

This applies to all employees who are not defined as "exempt".

Exempt employees are generally defined as supervisors i.e. having the authority to hire and fire other employees. There are other instances where non-supervisory employees may be classified as exempt - notably in so-called "artistic" professions.

It is a good idea for all employers to define their work week. What is the first day of the week and the last? For example, our work week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday. This will avoid any question when determining whether hours were worked in one week or the other.

No. Non-supervisory salaried employees are entitled to overtime the same as employees paid hourly. The employer should take care not to allow salaried employees to stretch their workdays out so that they consistently spend more than 40 hours per week on the job.

It depends on the employer's state. Currently, in the State of Washington, employers are not required to provide a final check until the next regular scheduled payday. In the State of Oregon, it depends on whether the termination is voluntarily or not: if voluntary, 5 business days; if not, the next business day.

Upon request, PayNow will provide an accounting for a final paycheck within a few minutes via E-mail or fax.

Federal Minimum Wage is currently $6.55 an hour. Effective 7/24/2009 if is scheduled to rise to $7.25 per hour.

Oregon Minimum Wage is currently $8.40. Each year, the minimum wage is increased depending on the rise in the cost-of-living.

Washington Minimum Wage is currently $8.55. Each year, the minimum wage is increased depending on the rise in the cost-of-living.

The IRS allows $.55 per business mile driven.

If they are truly independent, you may save money. Some people may falsely represent themselves as independent Make sure that they pass the following test before contracting with them:

- Do they have other clients besides you?

- Do they establish their own conditions of work?

- Do you relinquish your "right to control" their means of performance?

If the prospective contractor does not pass these tests, and subsequently files for unemployment benefits, you may be subject to paying all employment taxes plus penalties.

Proprietorships and members of LLC;s are generally not covered in the states of California, Oregon and Washington.

Officers of corporations are covered in these states.

Officers of Washington corporations may request an exemption from coverage.

Officers of Oregon corporations who are considered "family", may request exemption from coverage.

All employers are required to report new hires to the department responsible for administering child support services in their state.

PayNow reports all new hires to the affected state. This information is also transmitted to the Unemployment Insurance benefit payment file. This cross-match may result in the early detection of UI benefit overpayments.

Federal Unemployment Tax. This tax is levied on the first $7000 of wages paid to each employee. The current rate is 6.2%; however, the employer is granted a credit against this tax of up to 5.4% based on his contributions to his state for employment taxes. In effect, if all employees are covered by the state, and they all earn at least $7000, the FUTA will amount to $56.00 per employee. If none of the employees were covered by the state, the FUTA tax would be $434.00 each.