The following payroll information is available for three companies for 2016. Each company has two employees. Assume that the Social Security tax rate is 6 percent on the first $110,000 of earnings and the Medicare tax rate is 1.5 percent on all earnings.

Other benefits provided for the employees:
Medical insurance .....$250 per month for each employee
Pension benefits ...... $100 per month for one employee
Federal income tax withheld is 15 percent of gross earnings for each employee. The state unemployment tax rate is 5.4 percent and the federal unemployment tax rate is 0.6 percent on the first $7,000 of earnings per employee.

Other benefits provided for the employees:
Medical and dental insurance ...... $325 per month for each employee
Pension benefits .......... $150 per month for one employee and
$100 per month for the other employee
Federal income tax withheld is 15 percent of gross earnings for each employee. The state unemployment tax rate is 5.4 percent and the federal unemployment tax rate is 0.6 percent on the first $7,000 of earnings per employee.

Other benefits provided for the employees:
Medical and dental insurance .... $375 per month for only one employee
Pension benefits ..........10% of gross salary for the full time employee
Federal income tax withheld is 15 percent of gross earnings for each employee. The state unemployment tax rate is 5.4 percent and the federal unemployment tax rate is 0.6 percent on the first $7,000 of earnings per employee.
Required
a. Divide the class into groups of four or five students. Organize the groups into three sections.
Assign each section of groups the payroll data for one of the above companies.
Group Tasks
(1) Determine the gross and net payroll for your company for the year.
(2) Determine the total compensation cost for your company for the year.
(3) Have a representative from each section put the compensation on the board broken down by salaries cost, payroll tax, and fringe benefit cost.
Class Discussion
b. Have the class discuss how the categories of compensation cost are similar and why some are more or less than those of the other companies.

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Brooks Company Regular Hours 2,000 Brooks Company Hourly Rate $40 20 Overtime Rate Employee No. 1 Employee No. 2 $60 30 Overtime Hours 300 100 2,000 Hill Company Weekly Rate/Hourly Rate Weeks/Hours Worked Overtime Rate Overtime Hours Hill Company Employee No. 1 Employee No. 2 S2,000 18/hr. 52 2,000 NA $27/hr. NA 60 Valley Company Valley Company Monthly Rate/Hourly Rate Monthly/Hours Overtime Rate Overtime Hours Employee No. 1 Employee No. 2 $10,500 20/hr Worked 12 860 NA NA NA NA (part time)