Tax and risk issues for remote cs operators / who’s responsible for false alarms / CS webinars start next week October 14, 2023
KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Tax and risk issues for remote cs operators / who’s responsible for false alarms / CS webinars start next week
October 14, 2023
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Tax issue for remote cs operators
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Ken,
One of my central station clients (who by the way does not allow his operators to work from home) sent me a link to an employment law and tax seminar focused on work from home employees who move to another state. If a central station did, in fact, allow operators to work from home, they could move to another state, and cause some employment law and tax issues. I know that your team has some experienced employment law attorneys who can advise your readers on this, but it also brings up questions regarding state income tax and withholding.
Some states tax work from home employees in the state that the employer is located in, some don’t. Some allow a credit for taxes paid in the employee’s home state but employee’s home was in Texas, where there is no state income tax, the employee would still be considered subject to income tax in the employer’s state. There are also issues with unemployment tax and worker’s compensation.
Work from home arrangement can be very confusing for employers and employees alike and should not be taken lightly. You could end up with an employee getting chased around by one state, while trying to get payments back from another state, and your company could be caught in the middle. Make certain that your legal and tax people know how to navigate these topics, before you allow them to cross state lines for work.
Mitch Reitman
817 698 9999 ext 101
Reitman Consulting Group
Fort Worth, TX
817-698-9999
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Response
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Leave it to an accountant to make a bad situation worse. So now central stations permitting operators to work from home have to worry if they are working out of state, subjecting the employer [cs] to tax reporting in that state.
Mitch. It’s apparently not a serious issue with central stations because not one, not one, has admitted to permitting work from home operators. In fact, some central stations who are obviously permitting work from home operators either refuse to acknowledge the issue or are outright lying to their dealers, and that’s a real problem for a lot of reasons.
The central station webinars start next week. Work from home is the hot topic and it should be. I do not take a position one way or another, though I do see a few serious issues. What has peaked my interest is that central stations aren’t owning up to their work from home practice and policies. Not one is participating in the webinar series; not one has accepted Jeff Zwirn’s invitation to debate the issue. Jeff brought this to my attention a while ago and I understand his concerns. I am not technical enough to know the precautions and safeguards work from home operators employ, and the reason for that is that not one central station has said, “yes we do work from home operators, here’s why and here’s the precautions and measures we take with these work from home employees”. I agree with Jeff that work from home is likely to increase risk of distraction and that can increase risk of diminished monitoring services. I don’t know if that can be overcome by technology. I also don’t know that there has been a single case where a work from home operator is the alleged cause of a monitoring mistake or error; anyone know of one? Attend the central station webinars and learn a lot. If your central station isn’t participating you should find out why and if your curiosity is not satisfied you should be paying attention to the webinars looking for a new central station.
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Who is responsible for false alarms
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Ken
Another sensitive subject…. Who is the “perpetrator” responsible for millions of Unnecessary Police Response that is contributing to the overloaded 9-1-1 System, and costing millions in fines/fees? Is it the citizen alarm-site; or is it the remote monitoring source; or is it the owner of the customer RMR contract? For decades, the citizen customer alarm-site has been levied the related fines/fees. (Note: Highly regulated Fire Alarms are not part of this discussion.)
We believe the citizen customer alarm-site has little or no responsibility for the Unnecessary Police Response. Should the fines/fees be attached to the “perpetrator”, the remote-monitoring resource, with full knowledge of the rules and regs of the PSAP and 9.1.1… and paid to evaluate the data received from the alarm site, and notify the appropriate site-response. Or is it the owner of the customer contract that has the end-to-end customer responsibility, including errors & omissions that can produce UPR and related fines and fees??
Lee Jones
Support Services Group
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Response
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Alarm companies should not be subjected to false alarm fines; not the dealer; not the central station. It’s the customer’s alarm; the customer’s premises and I think the customer should get and pay the fine, if there is one.
The entire issue of false alarm fines has been beaten to death. I haven’t heard that much about it lately. I don’t know if false alarms have declined over the years. I don’t know if customer fines for false alarms, which I believe is the prevalent way municipalities fine for false alarms, have helped reduce false alarms, either by getting systems repaired, users better acquainted with the systems or customers just stop using the alarm [like I did in my office long time ago].
Alarm companies have incentive to ensure that false alarms are reduced or eliminated; at least false alarms based on faulty equipment. First of all, most if not all alarm companies are more than willing and able to render whatever repairs are required to the alarm system as long as the customer requests service and is willing to pay for the service. Forever upkeep and repairs is not part of a deal when a system is sold; customers need to sign up for repairs and sometimes inspections. If an alarm company can’t provide service when a customer requests service then the customer is likely to look to another alarm company who will provide the service.
Alarm companies are not immune when a customer gets fined for a false alarm. If the customer has any inkling that the alarm company is at fault, rather than the customer or nature, the customer is going to want the alarm company to eat the fine, and many will rather than risk getting into a battle with the customer and ultimately losing the customer. Like a landlord who has to eventually win when battling with a tenant [because sooner or later that lease is going to expire] an agreement between alarm company and customer is going to come to an end, and then the customer is free to go elsewhere. Of course a customer who can establish that the alarm company is not performing could seek to terminate the contract on that basis. But the point is alarm companies are not off the hook just because the fine goes to the customer. In many cases that’s going to come back to haunt the alarm company.
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WEBINARS SCHEDULE and REGISTRATION: SOFTWARE / CENTRAL STATIONS
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central station webinars
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Central Stations series: Why You Should Be Monitored By Our CS
Hear from the leading central stations and “Why you should be monitored by” that central station. The topic of remote operator monitoring from outside the central station facility and the dynamics that issue presents is sure to come up. The question you need to be asking is why isn’t your central station participating and why are you still using your central station if it’s not participating?
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October 17, 2023 noon ET, Emergency 24
Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5032873072502046552
October 18, 2023 noon ET, Statewide Monitoring Corp
Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3560536843132524128
October 19, 2023 noon ET, Legacy Security Services
Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4084258420664728661
October 24, 2023 noon ET, National Monitoring Center
Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/106284724856601695
October 25, 2023 noon ET, Dynamark Monitoring
Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5050152997423183449
October 26, 2023 noon ET, COPS Monitoring Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1774793620122519136
October 31, 2023 noon ET, Rapid Response Monitoring Center
Registration Link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2959829660260960857
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301