A Trump Account is now available for children under 18 years old and can be used as a tax savings vehicle by parents.  For a child to be eligible, they must be under 18 years old and have a social security number.  It is similar to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) but for minors. 

A new MyPerfectResume survey of 1,000 U.S. workers shows that secondary income is no longer a backup plan. It is now a core part of how employees manage their finances. According to the 2026 State of Secondary Income Report, 72% of workers rely on at least one additional income source, up slightly from last year and signaling a long-term shift rather than a temporary response to inflation.

Many employers invest heavily in employee training and development, and to protect these investments, they often use "stay‑or‑pay" clauses also known as Training Repayment Agreements (TRAPs) which require employees to repay training costs if they leave voluntarily within a specified period. These agreements, while once widely accepted, are now increasingly challenged due to evolving state laws and legal scrutiny.

2026 is shaping up to be a year of major shifts in employer‑provided benefits thanks to the recent passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). While much of the early attention focused on overtime pay and tax changes, the legislation also brings important updates for benefit plans, flexible spending accounts, and family‑focused savings vehicles.

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) has updated and expanded on the pay reporting required in 2026. Pay reporting is due May 13, 2026.  The CRD published preliminary reporting sheets and FAQs for employers with 100 or more employees who have locations in California.  The employee count is based on total employees (full-time, part-time, etc.) in the U.S., including California.  The requirements also include a separate report by employers who engage labor contractors.

The question of docking an exempt employee has been raised on hotline calls over the past month.  As a general rule, an exempt employee cannot be docked unless it is for five consecutive business days, but there are exceptions to this general rule.

For employers who run payroll bi-weekly, a salaried employee’s annual salary is typically divided across 26 pay periods, corresponding to 52 weeks of work. However, roughly every 11 or 12 years, a 27th pay period occurs. This situation will arise again in 2026.

For many HR leaders, there is a persistent disconnect between the significant investment a company makes in employee benefits and the level of awareness employees actually have about that package. This gap is more than a communication problem. It represents a strategic risk. When employees do not understand the full value of what they receive, it can affect their wellbeing, their performance, and ultimately your ability to retain them.

ASE’s last Michigan Policies and Practices Survey reports that on average over half of Michigan employers (55%) responding do not provide severance pay. Of those that do, many normally provide one or two weeks of pay per year of service as that benefit. However, over 50% of those that provide severance make the severance payout at management’s discretion.

Michigan HR professionals have been navigating the complexities of the Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) since its effective date, February 21, 2025. As the year draws to a close, a new set of administrative and compliance tasks emerges. The specific actions HR must take depends on whether your organization utilizes the accrual method or the frontloading method for providing earned sick time.

Massachusetts, California and the state of Washington have new pay transparency requirements that employers need to be aware of.

Governor Whitmer signed a new law this week that will allow Michigan tipped workers to take a deduction for tip income and the broader group of non-exempt and hourly workers to deduct overtime pay from taxes. H.B. 4961 provides for personal income tax deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation. This tip deduction from state taxes will apply for three years from 2026 through 2028. Additionally, Social Security recipients in Michigan will not pay tax on their social...

In recent years employees have requested earlier access for earned wages than the normal payroll period.  With employees at times financially struggling, access to their earned wages outside of the normal payroll allows them flexibility to pay bills, rent, and other expenses in a timely manner. A recent study shows that 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, making Earned Wage Access (EWA) a valuable financial benefit for employees. This is different than a payday loan which is a...

The U.S. Department of Labor announced it will reinstate its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) Program that was discontinued under the Obama Administration and has added certain FMLA coverage as well. The PAID program allows for:

With the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), a number of provisions impact employers.  Below is a summary of the major ones.