Season 15 in Review an a bonus payroll true crime tangent

In this Season 15 Review episode of It’s About Payroll, Brian Escobar and Walter dive into the biggest conversations, lessons, and surprises from the season — and uncover some eye-opening payroll realities along the way. The episode kicks off with a look at major news impacting payroll professionals, including minimum wage increases across multiple states starting January 1, with more coming later in 2026 in states like Alaska, Florida, and Oregon. The hosts also break down Amazon Business Prime’s new partnership perks, offering payroll, HR, accounting, and cybersecurity benefits through Gusto, QuickBooks, and CrowdStrike — saving businesses an average of $1,000 annually. The heart of the episode revisits Season 15’s most popular topics: payroll disasters, implementation failures, true payroll crime stories, and compliance breakdowns that cost companies millions. Brian and Walt highlight a recurring theme across all episodes — most payroll fraud lasts 16–18 months before detection, often due to lack of internal controls and oversight. From time theft and wage theft to insider data breaches, the hosts make one thing clear: payroll is no longer just processing checks — it’s protecting the business.