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Payroll
Accounting 2021
Seventh Edition

Jeanette M. Landin, Ed.D.,


M.B.A.
Landmark College

Paulette Schirmer, D.B.A.,


M.B.A.
University of Alaska Southeast

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Text Features
Rev. Confirming Pages

Rev. Confirming Pages


Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals 9

1
In 2020, SOX and the Dodd–Frank Act, which involved consumer protection and over-
sight of trading via the New York Stock Exchange, intersected to strengthen consumer

Chapter Opener
protections (known as qui tam rewards). The intersection led to a bill introduced in
Congress to create an independent board to oversee auditor conduct in publicly held
companies, thus limiting conflicts of interest and thus protecting individuals who invest Chapter One
Each chapter opens by focusing on a payroll accounting
in companies traded on the stock market. (Source: National Law Review)

topic related to a real-world company to set the stage for


the topic The
of the chapter.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided tax credits
for employers and employees through the Making Work Pay provisions. Although ARRA’s
provisions have expired, parts of it were reinstated through the American Taxpayer Relief
Act of 2012 (ATRA). Many of the ATRA provisions were extended through 2015 by the
Payroll Practices and
extension of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and extended through 2021. The Protecting
Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015, which also prevented certain types of tax
System Fundamentals
fraud, extended the ATRA provisions by offering employers tax credits for hiring qualified
Payroll systems are an integral part of job planning and strategic human
veterans and individuals who have endured long-term unemployment. resource management, cost management for products and services, and
As times change, new legislation will be enacted, and existing laws are sometimes repealed benefits analysis for a company. A company’s payroll system has histori-
and amended. An example of evolving legislation includes new local laws regarding fairness cally connected human resources and accounting departments. In contem-
porary businesses, payroll has taken on a strategic role in terms of company
in scheduling employees’ shift work schedules. Right-to-work laws are another example of
direction and future plans. The continual evolution of technological tools to
employment-related legislation. As of 2020, 27 U.S. states and Guam have enacted right-to- manage company resources, including monetary and human, provides both
work legislation that promotes an employee’s right to opt-out of union membership. West opportunities and challenges to employers in terms of employee access
Virginia’s law has been deemed unconstitutional, and the case will likely go to the state’s and protection of private information. A well-designed payroll system is a
critical element in company management; for this reason, an understand-
Supreme Court of Appeals. At the time of this writing, the notion of the right to work without
ing of payroll foundations is imperative. In this chapter, we will explore the
forcing union participation is being considered by the U.S. Congress. need for a payroll system, legal requirements, ethical guidelines, best prac-
The payroll accountant’s job is one of consistent and continual learning and research to tices, and variations in payroll practices among different-sized companies.
ensure that the company is complying with all current regulations and reporting requirements.
Many states, but not all, have additional payroll tax laws. Federally mandated payroll laws
will be addressed in the next section. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
See https://www.thebalancecareers.com/right-to-work-2071691 for more information about After studying Chapter 1, you should be able to:
state-specific legislation. LO 1-1 Identify Legislation That Pertains to Payroll and Business
LO 1-2 Discuss the Legal Framework Specific to Payroll Accounting
LO 1-3 Discuss the Ethical Guidelines for Payroll Accounting
LO 1-4 Identify Contemporary Payroll Practices

Stop & Check


LO 1-5 Compare Payroll Processing Options for Different Businesses
Which Law?

&
1. Requires employers to verify the employee’s legal a. COBRA
2 The Stop & Check feature allows students
Stop right to work in the United States?
to review their understanding of the content
Check 2. Protects the rights of disabled workers?
3. Governs the management of retirement plans?
b.
c.
ERISA
Civil Rights Act of 1991
4. Protects discrimination of workers older than age 40? d. PRWOR just read. It also enables instructors to con-
5. Creates safe work environments for employees?
6. Mandates equal pay for equal work?
e.
f.
SOX
ADEA
lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd
duct formative assessments at multiple points
2 06/02/20 10:18 PM

7. Extends medical benefits for terminated employees? g. HIPAA throughout each chapter, testing the students’
8. Ensures that child support obligations will be paid? h. ADA
9. Protects workers and families with preexisting i. OSHA understanding informally as well as offering
medical conditions?
10. Enforces payment of monetary damages because j. Equal Pay Act of 1963
opportunities to expand on the material.
of discrimination?
11. Requires internal controls on payroll practices of k. IRCA
public companies?
12. Gives small employers incentives to establish l. SECURE
retirement plans?

Trends to Watch
lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd 9 06/02/20 10:18 PM

Each chapter contains a feature box that connects


payroll-related recent events with industry trends
that shape the future of the profession. These
trends offer instructors more opportunities to
expand upon chapter topics, fostering discussion
and application.

viii

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Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals 33

Review Questions
1.
What is the purpose of a payroll system?
2.
What are two of the differences between large- and small-company payroll practices?
3.
What is certified payroll? Which companies must use it?
4.
Why might it be a good idea to let employees manage their payroll records? What are
some of the pitfalls?
5. What are two ways that a payroll system may protect a company in the event of a visit
from a government auditor?
6. What is payroll outsourcing? When might a company consider outsourcing its payroll?
7. What are three examples of federal laws that are essential to ensure legal, fair hiring
practices?
8. What are the major types of payroll processing methods?
9. What are two laws governing the taxes that employers must withhold from employees?
10. What are the guidelines for FLSA in terms of overtime and pay rate?
Rev. Confirming Pages
11. Why was the Social Security Act of 1935 created? What were its provisions?
12. What are two of the advantages of a computerized payroll system over a manual system?
13. Which act created the term “Full-Time Equivalents”?
14. How has cloud-based payroll processing affected contemporary payroll practices?
15. What are two of the differences between the completion of the I-9 and the use of
E-Verify systems?

38
End-of-Chapter Assessments
Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals
16. What was the purpose of the SECURE Act?
17. What are two of the challenges that arise from the use of outsourced payroll systems?

Students
P1-6B. can demonstrate
Samuel Alescio is antheir understanding
accountant for Diado, a large,through
multinational firm.
Exercises Set A
LO 1-3 During payroll processing, he notices that the new state payroll tax Rev. Confirming Pages
assessments designed to complement the chapter’s
updates have not been installed in the firm’s software. learn-
What ethical E1-1A. Lupore Fabrics obtained a contract in Watts Mills, South Carolina that
ing objectives. Each chapter
guidelines govern hishas review
behavior questions, exer-
in this situation? involves the production of materials for military uniforms, a project con-
LO 1-1, 1-2
tracted with the federal government for $2,800,000. What laws govern
cises,LOand
P1-7B.
1-2
problems,
Nitza with the exercises and problems
Croce is an employee of Autonder, a contractor that provides
ernmental construction services in Washington, DC. The current contract
gov- the wages Lupore Fabrics pays to its workers for this project? (Select all
that may apply.)
having two sets each chapterNitza
is for $250,000. (Setis 22Aandand Set$9.50
is paid B).perEach typedoes
hour. How 38 the
1. Davis–Bacon Act
Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and SystemAct
2. Sarbanes–Oxley Fundamentals
Walsh–Healey Public Contracts Act affect her?
of assessment is designed to measure student learning as 3. Walsh–Healey Act
4. FLSA
P1-8B. Eugene Robertson works as a payroll clerk at Hyperend Inc. He shares
follows:
LO 1-4 an office with three other co-workers and must examine documents con- E1-2A.
P1-6B. Samuel Alescio is an accountant for Diado, a large, multinational firm.
Martine Piccirillo works as the payroll clerk for Centinix, a security com-
LO 1-3 During payroll processing, he notices that the new state payroll tax
pany that hires many part-time and temporary workers who are paid on
taining personal information as a regular part of his duties. Based on the LO 1-1, 1-2
an hourlyupdates
basis. Whathave not been installed in the offirm’s
these software. What ethical
∙ Questions forprovisions
reviewofare designed
the Privacy to check
Act of 1974, for stu- does Eugene
what responsibilities law governs the hiring or documenting
workers?guidelines govern his behavior in this situation?
have regarding the payroll records he handles?
dents’
P1-9B.
remembrance of concepts.
Larissa Abiodun is a senior payroll administrator for Falcive Landscape P1-7B.
1. ADEA
2. FLSA Nitza Croce is an employee of Autonder, a contractor that provides gov-
LO 1-2 3. IRCA ernmental construction services in Washington, DC. The current contract
∙ Exercises
LO 1-5
check forThe
Design. understanding
company has 15 and application
employees and annualof revenues of
$10 million. She has been using and maintaining manual payroll records
4. USERRA
is for $250,000. Nitza is 22 and is paid $9.50 per hour. How does the
chapter concepts.
for the last 20 years of her career, and the president of Falcive Landscape E1-3A.
LO 1-1, 1-2
Walsh–Healey
Benson Rake is a member ofPublic Contracts
the hiring board for Act affect
Quambo her? a
Dynamics,
software firm. As the board reviews candidates for a position, one of the
Design wants to explore options for computerized payroll processing. P1-8B. other board members wants to exclude Nicholas Mathers, a manat
Eugene Robertson works as a payroll clerk Hyperend Inc. He shares
∙ Problems allow Which students to apply
payroll option and
is the most analyze
suitable payroll
for both Larissa and Falcive LO 1-4 an office
50s, because his agewith three
might meanother
that heco-workers andwithin
would be retiring
in his
musttheexamine documents con-
Landscape Design? Why?
accounting principles. next 10 years.
1. FLSA
tainingWhat law protects
personal Nicholas against
information as a this practice?
regular part of his duties. Based on the
P1-10B. Alfredo Bellini is the payroll accountant for Pyrondo Fireworks and he 2. ADEA
provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, what responsibilities does Eugene
LO 1-2 has been asked for information about employees and independent con- 3. ADA have regarding the payroll records he handles?
tractors. What are three of the key differences between employees and 4. Civil Rights Act of 1991
P1-9B. Larissa Abiodun is a senior payroll administrator for Falcive Landscape
independent contractors? LO 1-5 Design. The company has 15 employees and annual revenues of
$10 million. She has been using and maintaining manual payroll records

Critical Thinking
CT1-1. You have been hired as a consultant for Dynozz Medical Software, which is facing
Critical Thinking Exercises for the last 20 years of her career, and the president of Falcive Landscape
Design wants to explore options for computerized payroll processing.
Which payroll option is the most suitable for both Larissa and Falcive
an IRS audit of its accounting records. During your review, you notice anomalies in Want to challenge your students further? The Critical
lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd 33
Landscape Design? Why? 06/02/20 10:18 PM
the payroll system involving overpayments of labor and payments to terminated
employees. What should you do? Thinking Exercises
P1-10B. require
Alfredo Bellini students
is the payroll to consider
accountant for Pyrondo complex
Fireworks and he
LO 1-2 has been asked for information about employees and independent con-
CT1-2. Liliya Milic is the accountant for Syiva, a local nonprofit organization. She has been
tasked with managing the costs of the payroll so that staffing levels may remain
real-world situations
tractors. that
What are build
three of confidence
the key and
differences turn
between learn- and
employees
the same even if funding levels change. She considers outsourcing the payroll to ing into mastery. These
independent exercises offer possibilities for
contractors?
a payroll processing company. What are some factors that Liliya should consider
in her decision? Why are these factors important? team presentations or class debate.
Critical Thinking
In the Real World: Scenario for Discussion CT1-1. You have been hired as a consultant for Dynozz Medical Software, which is facing
Domino’s Pizza franchises in New York were sued by the state of New York in 2016 for an IRS audit of its accounting records. During your review, you notice anomalies in
wage theft at 10 stores. Under New York law, a corporation and a franchiser are joint the payroll system involving overpayments of labor and payments to terminated
employers if they meet certain criteria regarding employee control. The state found that employees. What should you do?
Domino’s met the criteria for being a joint employer because it mandates a significant CT1-2. Liliya Milic is the accountant for Syiva, a local nonprofit organization. She has been
number of policies with which franchisers must comply. The problem arose when Domino’s tasked with managing the costs of the payroll so that staffing levels may remain
mandated the use of PULSE payroll software, which the pizza company knew to be flawed the same even if funding levels change. She considers outsourcing the payroll to
and did not attempt to remedy. The flawed software led to employees being paid at rates a payroll processing company. What are some factors that Liliya should consider
below the legal minimum wage, failed to pay overtime, did not reimburse employees for in her decision? Why are these factors important?
vehicle use, and abused tip credit guidelines.

In the Real World: Scenarios


Food for thought: In the Real World: Scenario for Discussion
Domino’s Pizza franchises in New York were sued by the state of New York in 2016 for
1. Should the franchisers be held liable as joint employers with Domino’s? Why or why not?
for Discussion
2. Which laws pertain to employee wages? How would they apply in this situation?
3. What could be done to ensure future legal compliance?
wage theft at 10 stores. Under New York law, a corporation and a franchiser are joint
employers if they meet certain criteria regarding employee control. The state found that
Domino’s met the criteria for being a joint employer because it mandates a significant
Each chapter contains a discussion scenario that is drawn number of policies with which franchisers must comply. The problem arose when Domino’s
from real-world events. These scenarios encourage the mandated the use of PULSE payroll software, which the pizza company knew to be flawed
and did not attempt to remedy. The flawed software led to employees being paid at rates
expansion of chapter content and allow students to apply below the legal minimum wage, failed to pay overtime, did not reimburse employees for
vehicle use, and abused tip credit guidelines.
their learning to real situations.
lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd 38 06/02/20 10:18 PM

Food for thought:


1. Should the franchisers be held liable as joint employers with Domino’s? Why or why not?
2. Which laws pertain to employee wages? How would they apply in this situation?
3. What could be done to ensure future legal compliance?

lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd 38 06/02/20 10:18 PM

ix

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Rev. Confirming Pages

Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals 39

Internet Activities
1-1. Using the website www.jstor.org, search for articles about payroll-related laws or rel-
evant employment legislation. Once you find an article, summarize the article and
explain how the legislation influenced contemporary payroll practices.
1-2. Visit the website of the American Payroll Association at www.americanpayroll.org. On
the right side of the Home page, you will find articles about recent developments in Rev. Confirming Pages
payroll practices and legislation. Choose an article and create a presentation to your
class about how its content affects payroll practice.
1-3. Want to know more about the specifics of some of the concepts in this chapter?
Check out these websites:
Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals 39
www.dol.gov/whd/

Internet Activities
www.taxhistory.com/1943.html
Internet Activities
www.workerscompensationinsurance.com 1-1. Using the website www.jstor.org, search for articles about payroll-related laws or rel-
www.Kronos.com evant employment legislation. Once you find an article, summarize the article and
The Internet www.adp.com
Activities at the end of each chapter offer explain how the legislation influenced contemporary payroll practices.
1-2. Visit the website of the American Payroll Association at www.americanpayroll.org. On
students the chance to use their web navigation skills to
www.paychex.com the right side of the Home page, you will find articles about recent developments in
payroll practices and legislation. Choose an article and create a presentation to your
expand on theirit help
1-4. Would learning.
to see a videoThese
explanationexercises attract
of FLSA coverage? Go to the tech-
link below and class about how its content affects payroll practice.
select Topic 1: Coverage. https://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/videos.htm
savvy learners, allowing them to form their own under-
1-5. Check out www.employer.gov to see the Department of Labor’s Office of Compliance
1-3. Want to know more about the specifics of some of the concepts in this chapter?
Check out these websites:
standing of site.
payroll
This siteconcepts on their
contains guidelines ownabout
for employers terms.
their specific responsibilities www.dol.gov/whd/
to employees, compliance deadlines, posters, and other resources. Its employee-
focused website, www.worker.gov, contains worker-focused resources geared to fos- www.taxhistory.com/1943.html
ter understanding of employee rights under the law. www.workerscompensationinsurance.com
1-6. Using the website www.ncsea.org search for research about child support statistics, www.Kronos.com
collections per year, and payroll professionals’ role in the process. www.adp.com
www.paychex.com
1-4. Would it help to see a video explanation of FLSA coverage? Go to the link below and
select Topic 1: Coverage. https://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/videos.htm

Continuing Payroll Project:


Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and 1-5. Check out www.employer.gov to see the Department of Labor’s Office of Compliance
Sugarhouse site. This site contains guidelines for employers about their specific responsibilities
Toni Prevosti is opening a new business, Prevosti Farms and to employees, compliance deadlines, posters, and other resources. Its employee-
Sugarhouse, which is a small company that will harvest, refine, and sell
maple syrup products. In subsequent chapters, students will have the Prevosti Farms and
focused website, www.worker.gov, contains worker-focused resources geared to fos-
ter understanding of employee rights under the law.
opportunity to establish payroll records and complete payroll informa- 1-6. Using the website www.ncsea.org search for research about child support statistics,
Sianc/Shutterstock
tion for Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse.
Toni has decided that she needs to hire employees for the busi-
Sugarhouse
collections per year, and payroll professionals’ role in the process.

ness to grow. Complete the application for Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse’s Employer
Identification Number (Form SS-4) with the following information: Starting with Chapter 1, each chapter has an integrated,
Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and
Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse is located at 820 Westminster Road, Bridgewater, continuing payroll project—about a fictional company
Sugarhouse
Vermont, 05520 (which is also Ms. Prevosti’s home address), phone number 802-555-
3456. Bridgewater is in Windsor County. Toni, the responsible party for a Limited Liability Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse—that matches the chapter
Toni Prevosti is opening a new business, Prevosti Farms and
Sugarhouse, which is a small company that will harvest, refine, and sell
Corporation created in the United States with one member (disregarded entity), has
decided that Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse, will pay its employees on a biweekly basis. content and affords students a macro-level understanding
maple syrup products. In subsequent chapters, students will have the
opportunity to establish payroll records and complete payroll informa-
Toni’s Social Security number is 055-22-0443. The beginning date of the business is
Sianc/Shutterstock
February 1, 20XX. Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse will use a calendar year as its account- of how each piece of payroll fits together.
tion for Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse.
Toni has decided that she needs to hire employees for the busi-
ing year. Toni anticipates that she will need to hire six employees initially for the business,
ness to grow. Complete the application for Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse’s Employer
three of whom will be agricultural and three who will be office workers. The first date of
Identification Number (Form SS-4) with the following information:
wage disbursement will be February 14, 20XX. Toni has not had a prior EIN.
Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse is located at 820 Westminster Road, Bridgewater,
Vermont, 05520 (which is also Ms. Prevosti’s home address), phone number 802-555-
3456. Bridgewater is in Windsor County. Toni, the responsible party for a Limited Liability
Corporation created in the United States with one member (disregarded entity), has
decided that Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse, will pay its employees on a biweekly basis.
Toni’s Social Security number is 055-22-0443. The beginning date of the business is First Pages
February 1, 20XX. Prevosti Farms and Sugarhouse will use a calendar year as its account-
lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd 39 06/02/20 10:18 PM
ing year. Toni anticipates that she will need to hire six employees initially for the business,

A
three of whom will be agricultural and three who will be office workers. The first date of
wage disbursement will be February 14, 20XX. Toni has not had a prior EIN.

Comprehensive Payroll
Project: Wayland Custom Appendix A

Woodworking
lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd 39 06/02/20 10:18 PM

The Comprehensive Payroll Project (Appendix A) allows


students to track a quarter’s worth of payroll transactions Comprehensive Payroll
for a company. This Comprehensive Payroll Project offers
instructors increased flexibility in teaching and assessment Project:
by offering a simulation equivalent to a full quarter of a Wayland Custom
fictitious company’s payroll activities, including payroll Woodworking
transactions, pay processing, and tax form completion.
The Comprehensive Payroll Project may be presented in Wayland Custom Woodworking is a firm that manufactures custom cabinets and woodwork
for business and residential customers. Students will have the opportunity to establish payroll
records and to complete a month of payroll information for Wayland.
different lengths—as short as one month or in its three- Wayland Custom Woodworking is located at 12850 Old Highway 50, Glenbrook, Nevada,
89413, phone number 775-555-9877. The owner is Mark Wayland. Wayland’s EIN is
month entirety—to meet curricular needs. Instructors may 91-7444533l and the Nevada Employer Account Number is E6462582020-6. Wayland has
determined it will pay its employees on a semimonthly basis. Federal income tax should be

assign this in connection with many chapters of the book computed using the percentage method.
Students will complete the payroll for the final quarter of 2020 and will file the fourth
quarter and annual tax reports on the appropriate dates. At the instructor’s discretion, students
or use it as a final project for their courses. may complete a short version, which contains the payroll transactions beginning December 4.
Directions for completion of the short version follow the November 30 transactions.
Rounding can create a challenge. For these exercises, the rate for the individuals is not
rounded. So take their salary and divide by 2,080 (52 weeks at 40 hours per week) for full-
time, nonexempt employees. NOTE: Leave the hourly rate rounded to 5 decimal places as
shown in the next example. After the gross pay has been calculated, then round the result to
two decimal points prior to calculating taxes or other withholdings.

x EXAMPLE: ANNUAL SALARY TO HOURLY RATE, NONEXEMPT EMPLOYEE


Employee Cooper’s annual salary is $62,000, and he is a nonexempt employee.
Hourly rate = $62,000/ (52 × 40) = $62,000/2,080
Hourly rate = $29.80769 per hour

386

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Connect for Payroll


Accounting 2021
∙ SmartBook 2.0® A personalized and adaptive learning ∙ Guided example videos are also provided with select
tool used to maximize the learning experience by helping end-of-chapter problems, which help walk students
students study more efficiently and effectively. SmartBook through complex payroll processes. Instructors can
2.0 highlights where in the chapter to focus, asks review also assign test bank questions to students in both static
questions on the materials covered and tracks the most and algorithmic versions.
challenging content for later review recharge. SmartBook
∙ The Comprehensive Payroll Project from
2.0 is available both online and offline.
Appendix A is available on Connect in an auto-
∙ End-of-Chapter Content is a robust offering of review graded format. Students will apply skills, such as
and question material designed to aid and assess the preparing tax forms and payroll registers, to complete
student’s retention of chapter content. The end-of- the payroll process for a company from start to finish.
chapter content is composed of both static and algo- Instructors can choose from the full three-month
rithmic exercises, problems, critical thinking exercises, version or the shorter one-month version for their
and continuing payroll projects, which are designed Connect assignment.
to challenge students using McGraw Hill’s state-of-
∙ The Test Bank for each chapter has been updated
the-art online homework technology. Guided example
for the seventh edition to stay current with new and
videos are also provided with select end-of chapter
revised chapter material, with all questions available
problems, which help walk students through complex
for assignment through Connect. Newly available
payroll processes. Instructors can also assign test bank
within Connect, Test Builder is a cloud-based tool that
questions to students in both static and algorithmic
enables instructors to format tests that can be printed
versions.
or administered within a LMS. Test Builder offers a
∙ Auto-Graded Payroll and Tax Forms are integrated modern, streamlined interface for easy content config-
into Connect and are assignable. Students can complete uration that matches course needs, without requiring a
the forms in these problems to gain a better under- download. Test Builder provides a secure interface for
standing of how payroll forms are prepared in today’s better protection of content and allows for just-in-time
digital world. updates to flow directly into assessments.

Comprehensive Payroll Project


Auto-Graded Forms

xi

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Instructors: Student Success Starts with You


Tools to enhance your unique voice
Want to build your own course? No problem. Prefer to use our turnkey,
prebuilt course? Easy. Want to make changes throughout the semester?
65%
Less Time
Sure. And you’ll save time with Connect’s auto-grading too.
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Study made personal


Incorporate adaptive study resources like
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experience available in SmartBook 2.0 at
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Laptop: McGraw Hill; Woman/dog: George Doyle/Getty Images

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Acknowledgments
This seventh edition of Payroll Accounting would not have been possible without the patience,
guidance, and encouragement of Steve Schuetz, executive portfolio manager; the diligence
and commitment of Sarah Sacco, product developer; the support and leadership of Fran Simon
and Brian Nacik, content project managers; the incredible form templates designed by Kitty
O’Donnell; and the amazing artwork of Beth Blech, designer. We further want to thank Claire
McLemore, marketing manager; Beth Cray, content licensing specialist; Kevin Moran, director of
digital content; Xin Lin, lead product manager; and the composition team at SPi Global. Thanks
go to our project development team who handled every formatting request with professionalism.
Special thanks to Carmela Gordon, Trident Technical College, for her contributions to verify the
accuracy of our content.
Countless other colleagues have offered their feedback, insights, and inspiration during various
stages of this project. We want to extend sincere thanks to the reviewers who helped us shape the
seventh edition:

Angel Luper Joseph Nicassio


Tri-County Technical College Westmoreland County Community College
April Mohr Lori Parry
Jefferson Community and Technical College Eastern Gateway Community College
Beth Vaughn M. Jeff Quinlan
Zane State College Madison College
Carmela Gordon Marina Grau
Trident Technical College Houston Community College
Debbie Trumbo Martha Cranford
Gwinnett Technical College Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Denice Pardee Matthew Njoku
Arapahoe Community College Central Piedmont Community College
Edwina Phillips Rhonda O’Quinn
Rhodes State College Helena College University of Montana
Erol Tucker Ronald Carter
Victoria College Patrick Henry College
Gerald Childs Saturnino Gonzalez
Waukesha County Technical College El Paso Community College
Jeanine Metzler Tanya Haddad
North Hampton Community College Southwestern College of California
Jennifer Alderman Victoria Badura
Highland Community College Metropolitan Community College
Jeremy Germann William Lyle
Centralia College Georgia Piedmont Technical College

Our heartfelt thanks to all who have helped us continue to improve this text.
Jeanette Landin
Paulette Schirmer

xiv

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Brief Contents
1 Payroll Practices and System APPENDIXES
Fundamentals 2
A Comprehensive Payroll Project: Wayland
2 Payroll System Procedures 42 Custom Woodworking 384
3 Gross Pay Computation 110 B Special Classes of Federal Tax
4 Fringe Benefits and Voluntary Withholding 422
Deductions 164 C Federal Income Tax Tables 429
5 Employee Net Pay and Pay D State Income Tax Information 459
Methods 206
E State Revenue Department Information 465
6 Employer Payroll Taxes and Labor
Planning 266 F Payroll Certification Information 470
7 The Payroll Register, Employees’ GLOSSARY 474
Earnings Records, and Accounting System
Entries 340 INDEX 479

xv

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Contents
About the Authors iii Chapter 2
Payroll System Procedures 42
Chapter 1
2-1 I dentify Important Payroll Procedures and Pay
Payroll Practices and System Cycles 44
Fundamentals 2 Pay Cycles 45
1-1 I dentify Legislation That Pertains to Payroll and 2-2 Prepare Required Employee Documentation 47
Business 4 Employees versus Independent Contractors 47
1-2 Discuss the Legal Framework Specific to Payroll Reporting New Employees 49
Accounting 10 Entering New Employees into the Database 59
1-3 Discuss the Ethical Guidelines for Payroll 2-3 Differentiate between Exempt
Accounting 17 and Nonexempt Workers 60
Confidentiality 17 Leased and Temporary Employees 62
Professionalism 17 2-4 Explain Pay Records and Employee File
Integrity 18 Maintenance 63
Objectivity and Independence 18 2-5 Describe Internal Controls and Record Retention
 rofessional Competence and Due
P for a Payroll System 67
Care 18 Review of Time Collected 69
1-4 Identify Contemporary Payroll Practices 19 Overtime Approval 69
Payroll Preparation Options 20  pproval for Leave of Absence or Other
A
Privacy Protection 22 Unpaid Time Off 69
1-5 Compare Payroll Processing Options for File Security 70
Different Businesses 25 Alternating Duties and Cross-Training 70
Large Businesses 25 Best Practices Involved in Employee File Maintenance 71
Small Businesses 26 Electronic Records 72
Computer-Based Systems 27 Payroll as a Non-Solo Effort 73
Internet-Based Systems 28 Document Retention Requirements 74
Manual Systems 29 2-6 iscuss Employee Termination and
D
Outsourced Payroll Systems 29 Document Destruction Procedures 76
Certified Payroll 30 Employee Termination 76
Trends to Watch: Legal Environment 31 Document Destruction 77
Summary of Payroll Practices and System Electronic Records 77
Fundamentals 31 Trends to Watch: Payroll Procedures 79
Key Points 32 Summary of Payroll System Procedures 80
Vocabulary 32 Key Points 80
Review Questions 33 Vocabulary 81
Exercises Set A 33 Review Questions 81
Problems Set A 35 Exercises Set A 82
Exercises Set B 36 Problems Set A 83
Problems Set B 37 Exercises Set B 89
Critical Thinking 38 Problems Set B 90
In the Real World: Scenario for Critical Thinking 98
Discussion 38 In the Real World: Scenario for Discussion 98
Internet Activities 39 Internet Activities 98
Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and
and Sugarhouse 39 Sugarhouse 98
Answers to Stop & Check Exercises 41 Answers to Stop & Check Exercises 108

xvi

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Contents xvii

Chapter 3 Exercises Set B 155


Gross Pay Computation 110 Problems Set B 157
Critical Thinking 159
3-1  nalyze Minimum Wage Pay for Nonexempt
A In the Real World: Scenario for Discussion 160
Workers 112 Internet Activities 160
Minimum Wage 112 Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and
Tipped Employees 114 Sugarhouse 160
3-2 Compute Gross Pay for Different Pay Bases 118 Answers to Stop & Check Exercises 162
Hourly Workers 121
 ourly Workers in More Than One Job
H Chapter 4
Classification 121
Fringe Benefits and Voluntary
Commission Work 121
Piece-Rate Work 124
Deductions 164
3-3  alculate Pay Based on Hours and Fractions of
C 4.1  efine Fringe Benefits within the Context of
D
Hours 126 Payroll 166
Hourly Calculations 127 Purpose of Fringe Benefits 166
Quarter-Hour System 128 Including Benefits in Pay 168
Hundredth-Hour System 128 Fringe Benefits and Payroll Taxes 168
3-4 Calculate Overtime in Various Situations 130 4-2 Interpret Cafeteria Plan Types 171
Standard Overtime Pay 130 Premium Only Plan (POP) 171
 vertime for Employees of Hospitals and Residential
O Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) 172
Care Facilities 131 Health Savings Account (HSA) 173
Tipped Employee Overtime 132 4-3 Describe Fringe Benefit Exclusion Rules 175
Piece-Rate Employee Overtime 133 Prizes and Awards 175
Salaried Nonexempt Overtime 133 Gym Memberships 175
Overtime for Employees Who Work in Two or More Personal Use of Company Vehicle 176
Separate Functions 134 Gift Cards 176
3-5 Create a Payroll Register 135 Employer-Provided Snacks and Meals 176
Payroll Register Data 135 4.4 Explain Fringe Benefit Valuation Rules 177
 rack Employee Compensation Using a Payroll
T General Valuation Rule 178
Register 136 Unsafe Conditions 179
3-6 Apply Combination Pay Methods 138 Other Transportation Benefits 180
Base Salary Plus Commission 138 4.5 Differentiate between Pre-Tax and Post-Tax
Payroll Draw 140 Deductions 181
Salary Plus Commission and Draw 140 Insurance 182
Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) 141 S upplemental Health and Disability Insurance 183
3-7 Explain Special Pay Situations 142 Retirement Plans 184
Compensatory Time 142 Post-Tax Deductions 185
On-Call Time 143 4.6  pply Rules for Withholding, Depositing, and
A
S leep Time, Travel Time, and Wait Time 144 Reporting Benefits 187
Jury Duty 144  ules for Withholding Amounts Related to Benefits 187
R
Sub-Minimum Wage Situations 144 Treatment of Taxable Benefit Withholdings 188
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation 146 Rules for Depositing Amounts Related to
Pension Payments 146 Benefits 189
Retroactive Pay 146 Rules for Reporting Benefits 189
Wages for Deceased Employees 147 Trends to Watch: Employee Benefits 190
Summary of Gross Pay Computation 147 Summary of Fringe Benefits and Voluntary
Trends to Watch: Employee Compensation 148 Deductions 191
Key Points 148 Key Points 191
Vocabulary 149 Vocabulary 192
Review Questions 149 Review Questions 192
Exercises Set A 150 Exercises Set A 193
Problems Set A 152 Problems Set A 194

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xviii Contents

Exercises Set B 196 In the Real World: Scenario for Discussion 259
Problems Set B 197 Internet Activities 259
Critical Thinking 199 Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and
In the Real World: Scenario for Discussion 200 Sugarhouse 260
Internet Activities 200 Answers to Stop & Check Exercises 264
Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and
Sugarhouse 201 Chapter 6
Answers to Stop & Check Exercises 204 Employer Payroll Taxes and Labor
Planning 266
Chapter 5
6-1  ist Employer-Paid and Employee-Paid
L
Employee Net Pay and Pay Methods 206
Obligations 268
5-1 Compute Employee Net Pay 208 Social Security and Medicare Taxes 268
Pay Computation Steps 208 Federal and State Unemployment Taxes 270
5-2 Determine Federal Income Tax Withholding FUTA Credit Reduction 273
Amounts 210 State Unemployment Taxes 273
Federal Income Taxes 210  ther State and Local Employer-Only Payroll
O
 ederal Income Pre-Tax Computation
F Taxes 276
Examples 211 Workers’ Compensation Insurance 276
Wage-Bracket Method: Forms W-4 6-2  iscuss Reporting Periods and Requirements for
D
from 2020 214 Employer Tax Deposits 278
Wage-Bracket Method: Forms W-4 Lookback Period 278
from 2019 or Earlier Years 216 Deposit Frequencies 279
Percentage Method: Forms W-4 6-3 Prepare Mid-Year and Year-End Employer Tax
from 2019 or Earlier Years 222 Reporting and Deposits 281
5-3  ompute Social Security and Medicare Tax
C Form 941 281
Withholding 228 Schedule B 281
Social Security Tax 229 State Tax Remittance 286
 xamples of Social Security Tax Computations 229
E Form 944 286
Medicare Tax 229 Unemployment Tax Reporting 286
Examples of Medicare Tax Computations 230 Matching Final Annual Pay to Form W-2 292
5-4 Calculate State and Local Income Taxes 233 6-4 Describe Payroll within the Context of Business
State-Specific Taxes 233 Expenses 301
Local Income Taxes 234 Employees and Company Framework 302
5-5 Apply Post-Tax Deductions 236 6-5 Relate Labor Expenses to Company
Charitable Contributions 236 Profitability 303
Garnishments 237 The Labor Distribution Report 304
Consumer Credit 238 6-6 Complete Benefit Analysis as a Function of
Union Dues 239 Payroll 305
Employee Advances and Overpayments 240 Annual Total Compensation Report 306
5-6 Discuss Employee Pay Methods 241 Trends to Watch: Employer Taxes And Benefit
Cash 241 Analysis 309
Check 241 Summary of Employer Payroll Taxes and Labor
Cryptocurrency 245 Planning 309
Trends to Watch: Taxes And Payment Key Points 309
Methods 246 Vocabulary 310
Summary of Employee Net Pay and Pay Review Questions 310
Methods 246 Exercises Set A 311
Key Points 247 Problems Set A 312
Vocabulary 247 Exercises Set B 322
Review Questions 247 Problems Set B 323
Exercises Set A 248 Critical Thinking 334
Problems Set A 249 In the Real World: Scenario for
Problems Set B 253 Discussion 335
Critical Thinking 259 Internet Activities 335

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Contents xix

Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and Key Points 361


Sugarhouse 335 Vocabulary 362
Answers to Stop & Check Exercises 338 Review Questions 362
Exercises Set A 363
Chapter 7 Problems Set A 364
The Payroll Register, Employees’ Earnings Exercises Set B 370
Records, and Accounting System Entries 340 Problems Set B 371
Critical Thinking 377
7-1  onnect the Payroll Register to
C In the Real World: Scenario for Discussion 377
the Employees’ Earnings Records 342 Internet Activities 378
 he Employees’ Earnings Records and Periodic Tax
T Continuing Payroll Project: Prevosti Farms and
Reports 344 Sugarhouse 378
7-2 Describe Financial Accounting Concepts 344 Answers to Stop & Check Exercises 382
Debits and Credits 345
The General Journal 346 Appendixes
The General Ledger 346
7-3 Complete Payroll-Related Appendix A: Comprehensive Payroll Project:
General Journal Entries 347 Wayland Custom Woodworking 384
Employee Pay-Related Journal Entries 348
Employer Payroll-Related Journal Entries 349
Appendix B: Special Classes of Federal Tax
Other Payroll-Related Journal Entries 349 Withholding 422
Payroll Accruals and Reversals 350
Appendix C: Federal Income Tax Tables 429
7-4 Generate Payroll-Related General Ledger Entries 352
General Ledger Posting Practices 352 Appendix D: State Income Tax Information 459
7-5 Describe Payroll Effects on the Accounting
System 355 Appendix E: State Revenue Department
Payroll-Related Business Expenses 355 Information 465
Payroll-Related Liabilities 356
7-6 Explain Payroll Entries in Accounting Reports 356 Appendix F: Payroll Certification
Labor Reports 359 Information 470
Trends to Watch: Economic Effects Of Payroll 360
Summary of the Payroll Register, Employees’ Glossary 474
Earnings Records, and Accounting System
Entries 360 Index 479

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Payroll
Accounting 2021

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1
Chapter One

Payroll Practices and


System Fundamentals
Payroll systems are an integral part of job planning and strategic human
resource management, cost management for products and services, and
benefits analysis for a company. A company’s payroll system has histori-
cally connected human resources and accounting departments. In contem-
porary businesses, payroll has taken on a strategic role in terms of company
direction and future plans. The continual evolution of technological tools to
manage company resources, including monetary and human, provides both
opportunities and challenges to employers in terms of employee access
and protection of private information. A well-designed payroll system is a
critical element in company management; for this reason, an understand-
ing of payroll foundations is imperative. In this chapter, we will explore the
need for a payroll system, legal requirements, ethical guidelines, best prac-
tices, and variations in payroll practices among different-sized companies.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying Chapter 1, you should be able to:
LO 1-1 Identify Legislation That Pertains to Payroll and Business
LO 1-2 Discuss the Legal Framework Specific to Payroll Accounting
LO 1-3 Discuss the Ethical Guidelines for Payroll Accounting
LO 1-4 Identify Contemporary Payroll Practices
LO 1-5 Compare Payroll Processing Options for Different Businesses

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Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals 3

JGI/Tom Grill/Blend Images LLC

The Final Rule: FLSA Updated


The U.S. Department of Labor issued a Final Rule that was enforced in early 2020 and
addressed which employee payments may be excluded from overtime rates. This was an
important clarification because the last update to FLSA about overtime pay was 50 years
earlier. Some of the employee benefits that do not need to be included in their regular pay
rate include:

• Unused paid leave, either sick time or paid time off.


• Certain types of referral and sign-on bonuses.
• Discretionary bonuses stemming from exceptional events.
• Sporadic or infrequent payments.
• “Right to rest” pay and “Clopening” (i.e., closing and opening) pay.

These Final Rule guidelines address new employment situations that were not problems
50 years ago but have become frequent enough that legislative guidance was deemed
necessary. Corporate human resources and payroll personnel undertake a critical func-
tion in their companies. They must ensure that payroll is not only disbursed in a timely and
accurate manner, and they must also abide by an ever-changing legal landscape.
(Source: Morgan Lewis)

Employment legislation is highly complex and dynamic. Large


or small, employers must abide by the law and be aware when it
changes. In Chapter 1, we will explore the basics of payroll systems,
including legal and ethical issues involved with employee pay.

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4 Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals

LO 1-1 Identify Legislation That Pertains to Payroll and Business


Unlike many other types of accounting, payroll affects most (if not all)
members of an organization. Payroll errors can lead to serious internal
and external problems. Internal errors may cause a company to pay exces-
sive wages for unneeded overtime, underpay employees, forgo profits, or
employ the wrong number or type of workers during seasonal or other
workflow changes. Managers use internal reports about labor usage, staff-
ing levels, and employee compensation trends to ensure operational effec-
Alexander Kirch/Shutterstock tiveness. Organizational decision-makers use these reports to control labor
costs, hire additional employees to meet surge demands, and manage the cost of goods sold.
Payroll errors can result in governmental fines, taxes, or legal charges related to the violation of
labor laws. Employers provide external reports to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state gov-
ernment tax departments, and many more agencies, depending upon the nature of the company.

The Louisiana Department of Revenue took action in 2018 against three companies
for underreporting employee tax liabilities. The Government Against Misclassified
Employees Operational Network (GAME ON) Task Force found that these three com-
panies had deliberately misclassified workers as independent contractors instead of
employees to avoid employee income tax liability. During the three years investigated,
the total of tax liabilities, penalties, and interest due for the three companies was
approximately $250,000. (Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue)

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as of 2018, employment in


accounting jobs is expected to increase 6 percent through 2028, which is the average growth
for business professions. Salaries average $44,761 for payroll clerks, $78,829 for payroll
supervisors, and $99,623 for payroll managers, according to the 2020 salary guides available
via www.salary.com.
The legislative framework governing employers’ payroll systems is complex. Although
several fundamental laws still exist, payroll and human resource laws tend to reflect societal
evolution over time. Note how some of these laws have been challenged or changed since
their inception.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 mandated that males and females be paid equally for equal
work. As of 2020, 48 states have enacted legislation that clarifies and/or extends the original
1963 act. Any employees who feel they have been paid unequally based upon gender have
legal options to rectify the situation:
∙ First, they should gather documentation regarding the differential and determine if other
employees in question are willing to substantiate the difference.
∙ Second, they should speak with their supervisor to question the pay differential.
∙ Should the supervisor be unwilling to discuss or adjust the pay discrepancy, an attorney may
become a necessary third step.
This act was modified by the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which removed the
180-day statute of limitations on claims of unequal treatment.

In 1979, Lilly Ledbetter, an employee of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, started
at the same rate of pay as males in the same position. Over time, management declined
her raises based on negative reviews that Ms. Ledbetter later claimed were discrimina-
tory. Under the provisions of the 1963 Equal Pay Act, the claimant had 180 days to file
a complaint. Although the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with her discrimination claims,
it ruled in favor of Goodyear because of the lack of timeliness of Ms. Ledbetter’s filing.
This ruling ultimately led to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. (Source: U.S. EEOC)

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Chapter 1 Payroll Practices and System Fundamentals 5

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race,


creed, color, gender, and national origin. Since 1964, this act has been
extended by Executive Order 11478 to protect people with AIDS, preg-
nant workers, people with different sexual orientations, and people with
disabilities. In June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v.
Hodges (U.S. Supreme Court No. 14-556) that same-sex marriage was
legal and could not be banned in any state. This extension of the 1964
CREATISTA/Getty Images
Civil Rights Act represented another step toward the legal protection of
worker dignity.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prevents mandatory
retirement of older employees (older than age 40) and prohibits age-based discrimination
in hiring.

An AARP survey conducted in Oregon found that 62% of workers over the age of 40
who have applied for employment have been discriminated against due to their age.
Approximately 35% of job applicants over the age of 40 have been asked age-related
questions during job interviews, which is a violation of ADEA. However, older workers
are the most rapidly growing group of workers in Oregon. The Oregon legislature is
seeking legal remedies for this issue as of 2020. (Source: AARP)

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) defined


and enforced healthy and safe working environments for employees.
Employee safety programs and personal protective equipment represent
an additional cost to the employer, but fines for noncompliance and pay-
ments made following workplace injuries are often far more costly: fines
range from $13,494 per serious violation to $134,937 (2020 figures) for
willful or repeated violations.
NicolasMcComber/Getty Images
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) reg-
ulates the management of retirement and pension plans. ERISA has been
extended by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reformation Act of 1985 (COBRA). During
the recession of 2007–2009, the value of some employee retirement funds decreased, caus-
ing employees to postpone retirement. The Internal Revenue Service imposes limitations on
retirement plan contributions, and those limits have shifted to reflect the need for employees
to recoup losses sustained during the recession. Since that time, employee retirement benefits
have shifted from being a financial burden to becoming an employee hiring and retention
strategy, and retirement researchers are contemplating proposing a mandatory retirement sav-
ings law.
COBRA extended medical benefits for terminated employees at the employee’s expense.
The repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 2013 forced employers to offer
COBRA coverage to same-sex spouses. As of 2020, terminated employees who opt not to
enroll in COBRA plans may enroll in Marketplace plans for up to 60 days post-termination.
COBRA benefits currently extend to beneficiaries including employees, dependent
spouses, and children. Benefits are paid to beneficiaries in the event of reduced hours or
separation of employment for any reason excluding gross misconduct and upon the death of
the employee. In the event that the company offers retiree benefits, COBRA coverage also
extends to beneficiaries in the event of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In 2020, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act
granted small employers tax incentives if they implemented an automatic retirement plan
enrollment for their employees. Alternatively, the act allows small employers to form a group
that would allow the employees of each business to have better access to retirement plans
than the employer could offer by itself.

lan4797X_ch01_002-041.indd 5 07/03/20 12:35 PM


Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Down among
men
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Down among men

Author: Will Levington Comfort

Release date: June 24, 2022 [eBook #68390]

Language: English

Original publication: United States: George H. Doran Company,


1913

Credits: D A Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading


Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced
from images generously made available by University
of California libraries)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOWN


AMONG MEN ***
Down Among
Men

BY

WILL LEVINGTON COMFORT


AUTHOR OF “ROUTLEDGE RIDES ALONE,”
“FATE KNOCKS AT THE DOOR,” ETC.

NEW YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
Copyright, 1913
By George H. Doran Company
TO THE MEN OF THE UPPER ROOM
... and this is the story i told you through the several
nights: of the man who came up through the dark and the
fighting (often in such a ruck of fighting that he couldn’t
hear voices); how he was punished by men, broken by self,
and healed by a woman; indeed, but for her, he might have
chosen the long way of the brute to put on his powers and
attain the certain royalty of the human adult in this year of
our lord. she paid the price; she was the man-maker; she saw
the world-man shining ahead.... it is a story of the path at
our feet, of the compassionates who draw near to speak,
when we are brave enough to listen, of the women who walk
beside us. a tale of the road as we go—many are ahead, many
behind—but we do not travel this stretch again.
—W. L. C.
KAO LIANG
No one thought of kao liang.
Morning did not mention it in his great story; even Duke Fallows
did not think of it.
Kao liang, the millet of China. Inland seas of it are there, green in
the beginning of its flow, dull gold in its high tide.
A ruffianly scouring grain. Rice is its little white sister. Millet is the
strength of the beast, the mash of the world’s poor. A hundred
millions of acres of Asia are in yield or waiting for kao liang to-day.
Remember the poor.
In Manchuria kao liang grows strong and high. Its fox-tails brush
the brows of the tall Chinese of the north country. It brushed the caps
of the Russian soldiers one certain Fall.
The Censurer came with the planting in that year. Kao liang was
like a soft green mould upon the hills and valleys when he came to
his battle-fields. He was watching for a browner harvest and a
ruddier planting. Fall plowing and red planting—for that, he came to
Liaoyang.
His soldiers trampled it, devastated the young grain with their
formations, foraged their beasts upon it. Yet the millet grew,
hardened and covered the earth—for the poor must be served. Out
of flood and gale and burning, it waxed great, filling the hills and the
hollows, closing in on the city, climbing thinly to the Passes.
Its protest to the invasion was mute as China’s, but it did not run.
Before the Japanese, it closed in. It was ripe when the brown flanker
crossed the Taitse. It was ripe when two Slav chiefs took their
thousands forth to form the anvil upon which the flanker was to be
broken. The Cossacks had been feeding their beasts upon it for
many days, and they drank in the deep hollows where the roots of
kao liang held the rain. It was ripe for the world’s poor, when the
Sentimentalist strode forth at last—the hammer that was to break the
spine of the flanker.
CONTENTS
BOOK ONE
PAGE
AFIELD 1

BOOK TWO
THE HILL-CABIN 115

BOOK THREE
THE BARE-HEADED MAN 239
BOOK I.
AFIELD
1
The town of Rosario was ahead. The cavalry expected to sup and
sleep there. Chance of firing presently from the natives was pure
routine. John Morning, back in the second troop, on the horse of a
missing soldier, wondered if years of service and exploration would
make him ever as great a correspondent as Mr. Reever Kennard
looked. The wide, sloping shoulders of the Personage were to be seen
occasionally when the trail crooked, far forward and near the General.
The bit of fighting was over before the rear troopers got rightly into
the skirmish-line (every fourth trooper holding four horses); and now
the men breathed and smoked cigarettes in one more Luzon town; and
another Alcalde’s house was turned into headquarters.... This was a
brigade expedition of December, 1899. Two weeks before the General
had ridden out of Manila. Various pieces of infantry had been left to
garrison the many towns which would not stay held without pins. Two
or three days more, then Batangas, and the big ride was over, the
lower Luzon incision complete, and drainage established.
Morning, with the troopers, had to look to his mount in regulation
fashion, and did not reach Headquarters until after the others. The
Alcalde’s house in Rosario as usual stood large among the straw-
thatched bamboo huts. The little upper room which Morning had come
to expect through the courtesy of the staff, was easily found. The
saddle-bags and blanket-rolls of Mr. Kennard and his companion, a
civilian, named Calvert were already there, each in a corner. Morning’s
thought was that he would hear these men talk after supper. In a third
corner he placed his canteen, and shyly tucked away in the shadow,
the limp haversack.
There was a small table in the room, of black wood worn shiny by
the hands of the house, as the black wood of the floors was worn shiny
by the bare feet of servants. Upon the table was a small sheath-knife,
the brass handle of which was inscribed Mio Amigo.
It becomes necessary to explain that the human male is
discriminating about his loot, by the time he has been afield two weeks
in a tropical island, especially if he has camped in a fresh town every
night. The day’s march makes him value every pound that he can
throw away, for he has already been chafed by each essential button
and buckle. A tin pail of silver pesos unearthed in a church had passed
from hand to hand among the soldiers. As the stress of the days
increased (and the artificial sense of values narrowed to the
fundamentals such as food and tobacco and sleep), Morning had
observed with curious approval that the silver hoard leaked out of the
command entirely—to return to the natives for further offerings to the
priests.
So the knife on the table aroused no desire. It was not even a good
knife, but Mio Amigo took his eye, as if affording a bit of insight to the
native mind. It could not have been wanted by Mr. Kennard or Mr.
Calvert, since it lay upon the table. Morning put it in his coat, knowing
he would toss it away before to-morrow’s sun was high. In his hot
moist hand the brass-handle sent up a smell of verdigris. A little later in
the village road, he encountered Mr. Reever Kennard in the act of
purchasing ancient canned stuff from a native-woman, too lame to run
before the cavalry. Morning was not natural in the Presence.
The great man was broad and round and thick. He criticised
generals afield, and in Washington when times were dry. He had dined
with the President and signed the interview. His head dropped forward
slightly, his chin sunk in its own cushions. He bought the native wares
with the air of a man who is keeping a city in suspense, and the city
deserves it. Morning stood by and did not speak. There was no reason
for him to stay; he did not expect companionship; he had nothing to
say; no money with which to buy food—and yet, having established
himself there, he could not withdraw without remark of some kind. At
least he felt this; also he felt cruelly the cub. He was at home in this
service with packers and enlisted men, but always as now, officers,
and others of his own work, made him feel the upstart.
Mr. Kennard now turned to perceive him, his eyes opening in the
“Bless me—what sort is this?” manner of the straying Englishman; and
John Morning, quite in a funk, fell to enforcing an absurd interest in the
native sheath-knife. Kennard was not drawn to such a slight affair, but
perceiving the menial in Morning, allowed him to carry some of his
purchases back to Headquarters.
Supper was a serious matter to the boy. He had no money nor
provisions. In the usual case, money would have been no good—but
there were a few things left in the shop of the lame woman. The field
ration was light; and while he would not go hungry if the staff-officers
knew, it was a delicate matter to make known his grubless state.
Morning rambled over the town, after helping Mr. Kennard to quarters,
and returned empty to the upper room. Mr. Calvert was there and
appeared to see Morning for the first time. Calvert was a slender quiet
chap, and believed in what he had to say.
“Where did you get that little sheath-knife you showed Mr.
Kennard?” he asked abruptly.
Morning sickened before the man’s eyes. His life had been fought
out in dark, rough places. He was as near twenty as twenty-five. He
had the way of the under-dog, who does not expect to be believed,
looking for the worst of it, whether guilty or not. He told Calvert he had
found the knife on this table.
“I thought I put it in my saddle-bags,” Calvert said.
“You are very welcome to it. The Mio Amigo made me look at it
twice——”
“That’s why I wanted it. Take this for your trouble.”
Calvert placed a bit of paper money on the table between them.
“It was no trouble. I don’t want the money.”
“Take it along. Don’t think of it again.”
Morning didn’t want to appear stubborn. This was the peculiarity of
the episode. The thought of taking the money repelled him. The
connection of the money with supper occurred, but not with the
strength of his dislike to appear perverse or bad-tempered.... He saw
all clearly after he had accepted the paper, but the matter was then
closed. He was very miserable. He had proved his inferiority. The little
brush with big men had been too much for him. He belonged among
the enlisted....
He went to the lame woman and bought a bottle of pimientos and a
live chicken. The latter he traded for a can of bacon with a soldier.

2
Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, early in March, 1904.... The Japanese war
office had finally decided to permit six American correspondents to
accompany each army. The Americans heard the news with gravity.
There were two men for every place. Only three Japanese armies
were in conception at this time. The first six Americans were easily
chosen—names of men that allowed no doubt; and this initial group,
beside being the first to take the field, was elected to act as a
committee to appoint the second and third sets of six—twelve places
and thirty waiting. The work at hand was delicate.
The committee was in session in the room of Mr. Reever Kennard.
Five of the second list had been settled upon when the name of John
Morning (of the Open Market) was brought up. It was Duke Fallows of
San Francisco, who spoke:
“I don’t know John Morning, but I know his stuff. It’s big stuff; he’s
the big man. We’ve gone too far without him already. He has more
right to be on the committee than I. He was here before I was. He has
minded his own business and taken quarters apart. I had no intention
of breaking into the picture this way, but the fact is, I expected John
Morning to go in first on the second list. Now that there is only one
place left, there really can’t be any doubt about the name.”
Mr. Reever Kennard of the World-News now arose and waited for
silence. He got it. The weight of Mr. Reever Kennard was felt in this
room. Everything in it had weight—saddle and leggings of pigskin,
gauntlets, typewriters, cameras, the broadside of riding-breeches, and
a little arsenal of modern inventions which only stop firing upon formal
request. Without his hat, Mr. Reever Kennard was different, however.
Much weight that you granted under the big hat, had left that arid
country for the crowded arteries of neck and jowl and jaw, or, indeed,
for the belted cosmic center itself. He said:
“Mr. Fallows talks wide. This Morning is out on a shoe-string; and
while he may have a bit of force to handle certain kinds of action, it
isn’t altogether luck—his not getting a good berth. The young man
hasn’t made good at home. He hasn’t the money backing to stand his
share of the expense. The War Office suggests that each party of
correspondents employ a sutler——”
Fallows was still standing and broke in:
“I’m interested in that matter of making good at home. I’ve seen the
work of most Americans here, and I believe John Morning to be the
best war-writer sent out from the States. As for the shoe-string, I’ll
furnish his tooth-brush and dinnercoat—if the sutler insists——”
“We understand very clearly the enthusiasm of Mr. Fallows who
wants a second column-man for his paper. Doubtless this Morning is
open——”
“I hadn’t thought of it, but certainly the Western States would profit,
if John Morning turned part of his product there. How about your
World-News on that?”
“I favor Mr. Borden for the sixth place in second column,” Kennard
said simply.
“Borden reached Tokyo three weeks after Morning—and never
campaigned before.”
“He’s one of the best of the younger men in New York—a
Washington correspondent of big influence——”
“I have no objection to him, except as one to take the place that
belongs to John Morning. I can’t see him there.”
Kennard looked about him. Morning was not well known, having
been little seen at the Imperial in the last six weeks. Fallows had not
helped him by saying he was the best war-writer sent out from the
States; still in a general way he could not be put aside. Kennard saw
this.
“I wasn’t going to hurt Morning badly, if I could help it,” he said, “but
Mr. Fallows has rather forced it. This Morning isn’t straight. We caught
him stealing a sheath-knife from the saddle-bags of Archibald Calvert
down in Luzon four or five years ago. Morning said he found it on a
table in the room assigned to us. He took money from Calvert for
restoring the knife.”
Fallows laughed at this.
“I can’t believe the story,” he said. “The man who did the stuff I’ve
read, isn’t stealing sheath-knives from another’s saddle-bags.... Oh, I
don’t mean that it didn’t seem true to you, Kennard——”
Kennard had waited for the last, and was not good to look at until it
came. He turned quickly to the others. Borden was chosen.
“You’ve still got a place to fill in the first list,” said Fallows.
The committee was now excited. The five faces turned to the
Westerner.
“I repeat, Kennard, that your remarks may be within the letter of
truth, but I wouldn’t campaign in the same army with a man who’d
bring up a thing like that against a boy—and five years afterward.
Understand, I have never spoken a word to John Morning——”
“You’re not giving up your place?” said the committee.
“Exactly.”
“Then you’ll take Borden’s with the second——?”
“I have nothing against Borden. I wouldn’t spoil the chance of a
man already chosen.”
“Then first with the third army,” urged the committee.
“I can do better than that,” said Fallows. “Gentlemen, I thank you,
and beg to withdraw.”

3
John Morning waved back the rickshaw coolie at the door of the
little Japanese Inn, where he had been having his own way for
several weeks, and walked down the Shiba road toward the Imperial
hotel. He had half-expected to get on the committee, which meant
work with the first army and a quick start; failing in that, he looked for
his name to be called early in the second list, and was on the way now
to find out. Morning shared the passion of the entire company to get
afield at any cost.
Reasoning, however, did not lift his restlessness and apprehension.
He had not been on the spot. He had been unable to afford life at the
Imperial; and yet, the costliness of it was not altogether vain, since the
old hotel had become a center of the world in the matter of war-
correspondence. Japan reckoned with it as the point of foreign civilian
force. While his brain could not organize a condition that would spoil
his chance, Morning’s more unerring inner sense warned him that he
was not established, as he walked in the rain.
His name was not posted in any of the three groups. The card
blurred after his first devouring glance, so that he had to read again
and a third time. For a moment he was out of hand—seething,
eruptive. Yet there was nothing to fight....
Corydon Tait, a young Englishman with whom he had often talked
and laughed, was standing by. Tait’s name was not down. Morning
controlled himself to speak courteously.
The Englishman looked beyond him at the card. A chill settled upon
Morning’s self-destructive heat. This was new in his world. In the
momentary misunderstanding, he grasped Tait’s arm.
“Really, old chap, I’d prefer you not to do that,” the other said,
drawing his arm away. “It must be plain that I don’t know you.”
“I thought you were joking,” said Morning.

4
Back on Shiba Road in the beginning of dusk, he turned to the native
inn. The door slid open before his hand touched the latch; his figure
having been seen through the papered lattice. The proprietor bowed to
the matting and hissed with prolonged seriousness, hissed in fact until
the American had removed and exchanged his shoes for sandals. The
hand-maidens appeared and bowed laughingly. The old kitchen
drudge emerged from her chimney and ogled. The mother of the
house took the place beside her lord on the rostrum-of-the-pencils.[Pg
9] She did not hiss, but it was very clear that the matting under the
white man’s feet was far above her in worthiness.
There was something of this formality with his every entrance.
Morning had felt silly during the first days as he passed through the
hedge of bent backs; the empty cringing and favor-groveling had
seemed indecent. But now (in the dusk of the house before the
candles) a faint touch of healing came from it. They had all served him.
He had been fearfully over-served. They had bothered his work
through excessive service—so many were the hands and so little to
do. The women were really happy to work for him. To-night, a queer
gladness clung to their welcome. He had fallen indeed to sense it. He
was starving for reality, for some holy thing. They had stripped him at
the Imperial. In his heart he was trying to make a reality now of this
mockery of Japanese self-extinction.
The bath-boy, wet from steam, with only a loin-cloth about him,
followed Morning to his room. The American was not allowed to bathe
alone; would not have been allowed to undress himself, had he not
insisted upon the privilege. He sat in a tub, three walls of which were
wood and the fourth of iron. Against the outside of the latter, burned a
furious fire of charcoal. For the benefits of this bath, he was begged to
make no haste and to occupy his mind with matters of the higher life. A
moment or two before the water reached a boiling-point, Morning was
allowed to escape. Exceeding pressure of business was occasionally
accepted as precluding the chance of a bath for one day, but to miss
two days in succession, without proving that he had bathed elsewhere,
meant a loss of respect, and a start of household whispering.
He was sick to get back to work, turned to it for restoration and
forgetfulness, as a man to a drug. Moreover, there was need, for he
was on space. Two or three papers in the Mid-west used what he
could write, though he had no holding contracts, and had left Chicago
with such haste to catch a steamer, that there had been no chance to
make an arrangement, whereby these papers might have used the
same story simultaneously. And then, there had been a delay of nearly
a day in Vancouver. This time in Chicago would have been enough for
the establishment of a central office and an agent on percentage, who
could have enlarged his market without limit, and cut down his work to
one letter a day. Instead, he did the same story now, from three
different angles. It had been this way before. With war in the air,
Morning was unable to breathe at home. Off he went, without a return
ticket—tourist cars and dingy second-class steamer passage—but with
a strange confidence in his power to write irresistibly. It was like a mark
—this faith of his in the ability to appeal.
All his life he had lived second-class. To-night he wondered if it
would always be so; if there was not something in the face of John
Morning, something that others saw at once, which placed him
instantly among culls and seconds in the mysterious adjustments of
the world. They had made him feel so at the Imperial, before this
episode. Men who didn’t write ten lines a day were there on big
incomes; and others, little older than he, with only two or three fingers
of his ability, on a safe salary and flexible expense account.
The day was brought back to him again and again. The cut of
Corydon Tait had crippled him. He felt it now crawling swiftly along the
nerves of his limbs until it reached his brain, and remaining there
coldly like undigested matter in a sick body. He felt his face queerly.
There was neither fat nor flabbiness upon it. He could feel the bone.
His fingers brushed his mouth, and a sort of burn came to him. It was
the finest thing about John Morning. There was a bit of poetry about it,
a touch of tenderness, finer than strength. Passion was in the mouth,
intensity without intentness, not a trace of the boarish, nor bovine. It is
true you often see the ruin of such a mouth in quiet places where
those of drugs and drinks are served; but you see as well the finished
picture upon the faces of those men lit with world’s service, who have
heard the voice of the human spirit, and are loved by the race,
because they have forgotten how to love themselves.
Morning knew it only as his weakness. It was the symbol to-night of
his failure.... Those at the Imperial had seen it; they had dared to deny
him because of it. The greatest among the war-men were thin-lipped
and sinewy-jawed—the soldier face.... He knew much about war; none
had campaigned more joyously than he. In the midst of peril, courage
seemed altogether obvious and easy; his fearlessness was too natural
for him to be surprised at it, though it surprised others....
The typewriter buzzed on. Wearily he caught up the trend, but the
drive was gone, although there was hardly a lull in the registering of
the keys for two-thirds of a page. Always before, this sort of hackwork
had been done with a dream of the field ahead. His forces fused. He
had been denied a column. His hand brushed across his face and
John Morning was ashamed—ashamed of his poverty, of his work, of
his own nature, which made a tragedy of the cut of Corydon Tait;
ashamed of the heat in his veins from the stimulants he had drunk;
ashamed because he had not instantly demanded his rights at the
Imperial; ashamed of the mess of a man he was, a fool of his volition
and vitality, commonness stamped on his every feature.
Morning’s affinity for alcohol was peculiar. He worked with it
successfully. So resilient was his health that he was usually fresh in
the morning. Often he had finished a long evening of work on pretty
good terms with himself, the later pages of copy coming in a cloud of
speed.... The copy-producing seemed to use up the whipping spirit,
rather than himself; at least, he treasured this illusion. The first bottles
of rice-beer lasted the longest.... He recalled now that the maid-
servants had twice heated sake for him at supper; as for the rice-beer
he had been more than ever thirsty to-night. He glanced into the
corner where the bottles were and a sense of uncleanness came over
him—as if his body were flowing with the slow spirit, like a sea-marsh
at high tide.
... He heard the shafts of a rickshaw grate upon the gravel outside.
Amoya had come; it was midnight. He opened the papered lattice. The
runner was bowing by his cart, holding his broad hat with both hands.
Morning covered his machine, put fresh charcoal in the brazier, caught
up his hat and overcoat, and shuffled down the stairway, holding his
slippers on with his toes. The door-boy gave him his shoes and
opened the way to the street. Morning greeted Amoya with a pat on
the shoulder, and climbed into the cart.
“Yoshuwara?” the runner asked.
“No, you shameless ruffian!”
“No?” Amoya squeaked pleasantly.
“No—not—no must do.”
Morning waved his arm, signifying solitary and peaceful enjoyment
of the night air and contemplation of the dark city. These night journeys
had become the cooling features of his day. Amoya was a living
marvel, the rickshaw runner incomparable—tireless, eager, very proud
of his work; too old to be spoiled. He was old; indeed, enough to be
Morning’s father, but his limbs were young, and his great trunk full of
power unabated.
The night was dark, damp, no moon nor star. The cold which was
almost tempted thinly to crust the open drains, was welcome to the
man’s nostrils. Amoya warmed and gathered speed. Up the broad
Shiba Road he sped, past the far dim lights of the highway, past Shiba
temple, the tombs of the Ronins, past the cavalry barracks (by far the
best joke on Japan), and the last of the known land-marks.
Now Morning suffered strange temptations. Few white men who
have lived any time in Japan have escaped. A Japanese house with
every creature comfort was within his resources even now; wholesome
food, sake, rice-beer were cheap; excellent service, even such service
as Amoya’s was laughably cheap. Why not sink into this life and quit
the agony?... Why did he think of it as sinking into this life? Why did he
agonize anyway?... There was always a fresh sore on him
somewhere. Surely other men did not burn back and forth every day
as he did.
The shame came again. He ordered Amoya back within an hour,
left him at the door of the Inn, drenched with sweat and delighted with
his extra fare.
Morning slid open the door of his room. Nothing could be seen but
the glow of the brazier, yet he knew some one was within.... A series of
mattresses and robes had been taken out from a chest of drawers and
made up on the matting. The women as usual, had waited for him to
go out. He lit the lamp.
A little Japanese maid-servant was curled up asleep at the foot of
his bed. Morning sat down upon the cushion and mused curiously.... It
was thus that Naomi had ordered Ruth to steal into the couch at the
feet of Boaz. Ruth had found a home, and was not long allowed to
make herself glad with mere gleanings.... It was this sort of thing that
made Morning hate Japan. In the eyes of the old, limp-backed Inn-
keeper, this child was a woman. He would not have dared to delegate
a mere maid-servant to ply the ancient art with his guest, but there
were extenuations here: the delicacy and subtlety of the little one’s
falling asleep, and the child-like freshness of the offering. It was this

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