Compliance Corner: 10 Tips for Wrapping Up the Year with Confidence
31 October, 2024
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes, 15 seconds
As we approach the end of the year, human resources (HR) professionals have an opportunity to fine-tune operations, ensure compliance and set the foundation for a successful new year. Whether it's updating records, preparing for legislative changes or auditing safety protocols, here are ten esse...
Compliance Corner: Navigating the Complexities of FMLA
29 February, 2024
Estimated time to read: 4 minutes
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has been a cornerstone of U.S. labor law since its enactment in 1993, safeguarding employees' rights to unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. With the landscape of work continually evolving, staying abreast of FMLA requireme...
ICYMI 2024 Compliance Changes: What You Need to Know
27 February, 2024
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Keeping up with compliance is a near full-time job. Legislatures across the country have written new laws that will have a tremendous impact on businesses of all sizes and spanning all industries. Unless it’s your job (or hobby, we don’t judge) to keep up to date with each new requirement, please fe...
Compliance Corner: 2024 HR Trends for the Year!
31 January, 2024
Estimated time to read: 7 minutes, 15 seconds
Welcome to 2024 -- the new year promises to be an exciting time for the Human Resources (HR) world! There are a few standout trends that started percolating in 2023, and we are very interested to see the trajectory. From minimum wage increases to pay transparency laws, there is a litany of changes a...
50 State Legal Update—A Mid-Year Check In
12 June, 2023
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 30 seconds
As we near the halfway point for 2023, it’s safe to say state legislatures across the country have been busy. The passage of laws has been so fast and furious, in fact, that it’s tremendously difficult for HR leaders and teams to keep pace (and keep compliant). We recently conducted a mid-year legal...
Compliance Corner: Clearing Up Confusion on Pay Transparency Laws
28 April, 2023
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Across the country, pay transparency laws are becoming increasingly common. The laws are designed to promote fairness and equity in the workplace by removing disparities among gender, race, ethnicity and other characteristics. Ten states already have these laws on the books while many others are in...
Unloading HR Stress through Augmentation
17 February, 2023
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes
Now is the time to check in with your HR friends and family. With more demands, fewer resources and less time, HR teams are being stretched thin and having a hard time keeping up with the day-to-day— not to mention having the time to focus on longer-term, more strategic objectives. In an era of...
Compliance Corner: Home is Where the Work is—Considerations for Employers with Remote Employees
31 January, 2023
Estimated time to read: 3 minutes, 45 seconds
Working from home became all the rage in 2020 as Covid-19 wrought havoc on economies across the globe. The ability for employees to work from home became a survival tactic for many businesses. Now that Covid-19 is reaching its endemic stage, businesses have been hoping to return employees to the off...
Compliance Changes Across America: What You Need to Know
05 December, 2022
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 30 seconds
We’re (somehow) already through the year 2022. The end of the year is a hectic time for everyone—HR teams especially. Anyone that has spent time in the HR field knows the drill by now: with each passing year comes new legal updates and compliance requirements. With an already frenetic schedule in pl...
State by State: Managing HR Specifics Across Industries
18 January, 2021
Estimated time to read: 3 minutes
The daily to-do list for a human resources (HR) team can be quite long – from taking care of routine tasks like payroll to executing long-term strategies that can boost employee engagement and culture. For businesses that span multiple states, this to-do list becomes even longer and more compl...
2020 changes to state minimum wage
14 January, 2020
Estimated time to read: 45 seconds
Workers in more than 20 states ushered in the new year with hopes of larger paychecks. In total, more than half the country will see a pay raise due to an increase in the minimum wage on a state-by-state basis. Additionally, 26 cities are set to raise their minimum wage standards in 2020 (17...
What You Need to Know About the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax (MCTMT)
03 December, 2019
Estimated time to read: 45 seconds
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has released information about a tax that applies to employers within the state. This tax, titled the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax (MCTMT), applies to employers who:Are required to withhold New York State income tax fro...
Planning Ahead for Local and State Minimum Wage Increases
28 May, 2019
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Managing payroll is already complex, and when you factor in the ever-changing regulations, it can be downright challenging. One of the changes your business may be facing in 2019 is a local or state minimum wage increase. This year, 21 states and a number of local jurisdictions have increased their...
State Minimum Wage, Paid Sick Leave, and Tax Changes to Expect in 2019
08 January, 2019
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes, 15 seconds
As we head into 2019, more states and localities have announced changes to their minimum wage rates. Here’s a rundown of the latest developments. States: Alaska: $9.89 (from $9.84), effective Jan. 1, 2019. Arkansas: $9.25 (from $8.50), effective Jan. 1, 2019. The minimum wage will increas...
Changes for 2019 in State Minimum Wage Rates
06 November, 2018
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 45 seconds
As usual, the new year will usher in a multitude of changes in state and municipal minimum wage laws. Let's take a look at some of the reasons why payroll professionals need to be aware of the changes. Montana, New Jersey, [Ohio](link no longer available), South Dakota, and Vermont will all rai...
New Local Tax Laws Add to a Patchwork of Complications
05 September, 2018
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 45 seconds
In July 2018, New Jersey became the latest state to pass legislation allowing cities to impose payroll taxes on employers, joining 15 other states that allow local taxing. The New Jersey bill allows municipalities with more than 200,000 residents to impose employer payroll taxes of up to 1 percent...
Massachusetts Is the Latest State to Raise Minimum Wage to $15, Enacts Paid Family Leave
08 August, 2018
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Over the next five years, Massachusetts will incrementally increase its minimum hourly wage from $11 to $15. Legislation signed by Governor Charlie Baker (R) will increase the minimum wage by 75 cents on Jan. 1 of each year from 2019 to 2023. Beginning in 2019, the minimum wage will increase to $12...
Paid Sick Leave Is Now the Law in 10 States; New Jersey Is the Latest to Switch
05 June, 2018
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes, 45 seconds
One in five U.S. states now require private-sector employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. On May 2, New Jersey joined nine states and the District of Columbia in making [paid sick leave](link no longer available) mandatory. The law takes effect Oct. 29, and is expected to provide...
Coast-to-Coast Tax Developments: Opt-Ins in New York, Deferments in San Francisco
24 May, 2018
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes
There are some notable tax changes at the state and local levels for the 2018 tax year, with two historical bellwethers—New York and San Francisco—leading the way. Following the passage of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, New York state responded by making changes to its 2019 budget t...
States Passing Unemployment Insurance Measures That Affect Payroll Taxes and Filing
30 May, 2017
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes, 15 seconds
2017 has been a busy year for unemployment insurance compliance, as many states are passing or considering laws related to the UI tax. Laws already passed affect unemployment insurance electronic reporting and payment requirements, as well as tax-rate schedules. What Is Unemployment Insurance? Unem...
Obama Administration’s Final Flurry of Labor Initiatives has Critics Crying Foul About Compliance Costs
06 December, 2016
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes, 30 seconds
President Obama has spent the last year of his presidency focused on enforcing labor measures that generally favor workers. The most notable of these initiatives include the wide-ranging overtime rule and an executive order expanding disclosure requirements for federal contractors. Citing high cost...
Five years in the making, controversial ‘persuader’ rule stopped just four days short of finish line
26 July, 2016
Estimated time to read: 1 minute, 45 seconds
On June 27, a federal district court judge in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Labor Department’s controversial “persuader” rule that was scheduled to take effect July 1. This eleventh-hour stoppage was a major victory for the many states, business groups and employers th...
New FLSA Overtime Rules Make Accurate Time Tracking More Important Than Ever
31 May, 2016 | 1 Comments
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes
Just last week, On May 18, 2016, Secretary Perez and President Obama announced that the Department of Labor finalized drastic changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which update overtime regulations. These new changes will go into effect on December 1, 2016, giving employers some time to up...
The minimum wage fight is already being waged at the state (and city) level
24 May, 2016
Estimated time to read: 2 minutes, 30 seconds
The federal hourly minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009. For several years, the Obama administration has asked Congress to increase the federal minimum wage, to no avail. However, the federal minimum wage is just that: the least that employers must legally pay their employees. If a state w...
The Paid Leave Trend Continues at the State and City Level, With Federal Encouragement
10 May, 2016
Estimated time to read: 45 seconds
As the Obama administration continues to push for federal paid family and sick leave requirements, it’s also prompting state and local governments to take matters into their own hands. On May 5, the Labor Department announced that it’s offering $1 million in federal grants to allow state, county or...