Payroll for 2013 adjustments must include IRS updates and changes. The annual inflation adjustments were recently announced by The Internal Revenue Service for the 2013 tax year. The announcement includes the new limits for Section 132 transportation plans and additional changes as a result of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012.
The monthly fringe benefits exclusion in 2013 for transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle (i.e. vanpool) is $245, up from $240 for tax year 2012. The monthly parking limit will be raised to $245 as well in order to support parity.
Although the transportation plan limits are typically announced in October or November, the announcement was delayed due to the "fiscal cliff". Other changes were also announced that are important to incorporate into your payroll processing.
Learn more about tranportation plan limits in IRS Revenue Procedure 2013-15.
If you have questions regarding payroll processing or would like to discuss how using an outsource payroll processing service can help your company, give us a call.
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Fri, Nov 11, 2011 @ 11:45 AM
Compiance with the National Labor Relations Board entails keeping up to date with their posting requirements. There is a new posting requirement for all employers regarding a notice about the National Labor Relations Act. The posting is for all employers, whether unionized or not.
Employers are required to post by January 31, 2012 a notice regarding employee rights under the NLRB's NLRA (National Labor Relations Act.)
As with other required postings, this notice should be placed in a conspicuous location with the other labor and employment law posters. The NLRB provides a template on their website which is available for download, at no charge.
For more information and a link to the required notice, please see http://www.gordonrees.com/publications/viewPublication.cfm?contentID=2265. Although a number of organizations are challenging the rule, at this point such challenges have only postponed, but not have not eliminated, the poster requirement. We will notify HELPLINE users if there is a change; until such time all affected employers should comply no later than January 31 of next year.
The poster is available for download at http://www.nlrb.gov/poster
This article was written by Jeffrey C. Garr, CEO of HR Knowledge, Inc. at www.hrknowledge.com. For more information please contact us!
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Fri, Oct 21, 2011 @ 08:03 AM
New Posting Requirement for Employers
Employers: Are you prepared? There is a new posting requirement by the National Labor Relations Board. This new rule affects all employers, regardless of union or non-union.
By January 31, 2012, employers are now required to post a new notice about employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
As with other labor and employment law posters, the information must be posted in a conspicuous location. For information about size and content, and to download a template free of charge you can visit the NLRB website.
A number of organizations are challenging the rule, however at this point such challenges have only postponed, but not have not eliminated, the poster requirement. We will notify HR Knowledge, Inc. clients if there is a change; until such time all affected employers should comply no later than January 31 of next year.
The poster is available for download at http://www.nlrb.gov/poster and HR Knowledge will be providing all full-service clients with one at no charge.
For more information about this posting requirement, to keep updated on other laws and regulations that can effect an employer, and tips to stay in compliance, please contact us.
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Tue, Sep 20, 2011 @ 02:34 PM
Q: It's that time of year again - Open Enrollment.
How can employees better determine the benefits coverage they need to protect themselves and their families?
A: This is a great question. Far too often, employees make mistakes in their benefits coverage decisions which can cost them a lot more money in the long run or even influence their health care decisions when their coverage is insufficient. Two of the most common mistakes are not meeting deductible amounts and failing to contribute enough to their flexible spending accounts.
Typically, when it comes to health insurance, employees rarely have a thorough understanding of what their policy covers. A benefits consultant or broker, who not only has a thorough understanding of the various providers and plans, but knows the most common mistakes employees make, can help employees better navigate the insurance selection process.
Communication is key. Employees cannot be expected to make informed decisions about insurance when overwhelmed with information during the hiring process or at open enrollment. A benefits consultant or broker will take the time to understand the needs and preferences of employees and advise them accordingly. Not only will employees be able to make an educated decision about their benefits coverage, but ultimately, they will be well-protected and more satisfied overall with their benefits coverage.
FSA's can be either very complicated to understand or if explained properly can be easily understood. We recommend an Open Enrollment Meeting for all employees to help them better understand all of their options with benefits.
For more comprehensive guidance, contact HR Knowledge, Inc.at Sales@hrknowledge.com or call at 508-339-1300
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Fri, Sep 16, 2011 @ 05:03 AM
Age Discrimination and Compliance (ADEA)
The current economy and the changing roles of older family members are just a couple of reasons why older Americans are re-entering or remaining in the workforce. Because of this, it's imperative that those who are hiring have a good understanding of age discrimination. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits age discrimination in employment with respect to hiring, firing, layoff, promotion, transfers, compensation, benefits, job assignments and training of anyone age 40 or older.
Age discrimination includes:
-Hiring only younger workers.
-Providing younger workers with better employment terms or conditions.
-Younger workers are the only ones promoted or offered better job opportunities.
-New training intiatives exclude older workers.
-During layoffs or restructuring, younger workers are retained while older workers are not.
During the interview process, be aware of questions that are potentially discriminatory, such as:
-How old are you?
-What year did you graduate from high school?
-Are you a Social Security recipient?
Older workers will more than likely have more experience and/or education than their younger counterparts. How do you address the "overqualified" during the interview process to ensure that the person would be a good hire? Questions that are "safe" to ask may include:
“How will you be challenged in this role?” and “What are your salary expectations?”
For more information about hiring, compensation or benefits please feel free to contact Jeff Garr, CEO at HR Knowledge www.hrknowledge.com or Call 508-339-1300.
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Sat, Sep 03, 2011 @ 04:13 PM
Our most recent hire worked for almost a full week before it was discovered that she failed to meet I-9 eligibility criteria. How are we supposed to pay her?
It is a challenge to pay someone for work performed when there is no proper documentation, but she must be paid, period.
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) states “work not requested but suffered or permitted to be performed is work time that must be paid for by the employer…The reason is immaterial. The hours are work time and are compensable.”
And, regardless of her I-9 status, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expects you to withhold payroll taxes.
There's really only one way to avoid this type of situation and that is by planning carefully. Here are some tips to follow in order to ensure there is no violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act or IRS rules:
- Pay the employee to ensure you fulfill the requirements of DOL and IRS. You may pay the wages owed the employee in cash or by check (via the company's payroll system) minus the amount deducted for taxes.
- When hiring, be sure to require work authorization PRIOR to the commencement of work
- Obtain and complete ALL paperwork on new employees BEFORE any work is performed, which of course includes the I-9. And, be sure Payroll has a copy of the employee's Social Security card on file
For more comprehensive guidance, contact HR Knowledge, Inc. at Sales@hrknowledge.com or call at 508-339-1300.
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Thu, Aug 18, 2011 @ 04:29 PM
Compensating your Sales people correctly can be a great challenge to the average business manager/owner. If you don’t compensate them correctly or adequately, your sales people's production may suffer, which will directly affect business growth and profit. If you do incentivize them correctly but pay them too much, it could create future problems related to growth and or profitability of your business.
Below are 7 key points to building a strong sales team:
1. Consider a Compensation Model prior to targeting and hiring sales people. It helps to have a good understanding of what makes some people "tick", yet not others. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that there are a number of aspects that generate needs for any person, some of which may be of more interest to one person and less interest to another. Once you understand which aspect(s) motivate people, you can create a better environment to help create greater success. According to Malsow, people are motivated by need, from the most basic biological/ physical needs (food, shelter, sleep, etc.) and safety needs (security, protection, stability) to the more emotional needs of belongingness (relationships, work group) and esteem needs (achievement and reputation) to self-actualization needs (personal growth and fulfillment). For example, someone who is unemployed would be motivated through the fulfillment of the more basic physical and safety needs, whereas a person who already has job security, would be more motivated through promised fulfillment of esteem or self-actualization needs.
2. Hire the right team of sales people. Before hiring, understand the type of sales person you need and then target them. Are you looking for an “order taker”? This is a person who can call on existing accounts and build great relationship with the client. Are you looking for a sales person who can “make it rain”? This person has the ability to create and generate business. If they are able to "find" business then they are the “hunter”. Understand what type of sales person you need and then target them in recruiting.
3. Adhere to the "Three A's" when hiring. Once you understand the type of sales person you are looking for, remember the "Three A’s" when hiring for a sales position in your company. The first and most important "A" is Attitude. The right attitude is everything when hiring people. If they have the right attitude they will go through the wall for you to close business and follow the direction of the company. Attitude is vital and without it, you have the wrong person on your team. The second "A" is Aptitude. Ask yourself if s/he has the aptitude for the position of the company. Webster Dictionary defines aptitude as “capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent". If they don’t have the aptitude or capability or ability to take the sales position, then s/he is the wrong person for the company as well. The final "A" is Altitude, meaning, how high can they go? How high do you need them to go? Will they plateau at a certain point and coast?
4. Beware of complacency. The next concern when hiring sales people and thus managing them is complacency. Most sales people will reach a point of complacency and then coast in the job. Less work and more play becomes their mantra. The key challenge for management is to do all you can do to prevent complacency by your sales people. Most people become satisfied (and have obtained fulfillment of Maslow's higher level of emotional needs) once they attain job satisfaction or reach a particular level of income or status. With sales people, the challenge is to prevent this from happening.
5. Utilize your Compensation Model. It is vital to keep sales people motivated and “in the game”. From a managerial standpoint, it is far easier to compensate sales people and steer them in the direction the company wants them to go than it is to create compensation models to drive operations people, where you have to rely on coaching and management techniques. Sales people are experts in understanding compensation models and how they can maximize their income in the quickest time frame. They are usually very highly motivated and understand how the game works. This being the case, it is imperative that you find a compensation model to drive the sales team to do what you want them to do.
6. Understand what your company’s objectives are and then create the compensation model to attain those objectives. For example, if your interest is to expand and grow your client base, then the compensation model needs to reward your sales team for new business and retention. You can create additional incentives to ensure that a large portion of their pay will be derived from new business acquisition. If it is imperative that your sales team be involved in the retention of clients, then you need to find a compensation model which will reward them for retaining and maintaining great relationships with clients. If they lose clientele, you must ensure that this will affect their compensation. This is a delicate area because if your operations team is not equally committed to retaining clients and the service or product you are delivering is not up to standard, then the sales team has no chance to retain the business no matter how great their relationship is with that client.
7. Do all that you can to ensure that the product or service you deliver is “remarkable!" Make sure that your company is setting the tone and the barometer in the marketplace for what you do. This will allow your sales people to confidently and comfortably sell your product or service. Without this, no sales person of any quality can survive and thrive in today’s business environment. Make sure that your operations team are as committed and passionate about clients as your sales team.
For more information about compensation, HR and or benefits please feel free to contact Jeff Garr, CEO at HR Knowledge or 508-339-1300 www.hrknowledge.com
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Tue, Aug 09, 2011 @ 04:03 PM
How are companies going to handle the increased demand for qualified candidates when so many companies are struggling with staffing now? Why are these companies struggling? Here are the top reasons:
Feast. With the economic downturn, employers have been faced with a deluge of job applicants and the vast majority of these applicants are not suited to those job positions.
Famine. Skilled people are still hard to find, even in this economy. Many positions go unfilled simply for a lack of qualified candidates, particularly in many skilled trades.
Fewer “job changers”. Many people are risk averse in today’s economy and would rather play it safe and stay with a current employer than risk a job move.
Benefits costs are soaring. An increasing number of employers are deciding to put off hiring or rely on temporary workers to avoid such uncertainty.
Reluctance to fill vacant positions causing increased employee stress. With companies reluctant to hire, the workload of existing employees, with regard to the scope of responsibilities and total number of hours worked, is increasing noticeably.
Increase in litigation by the unemployed. When faced with the loss of employment and income, people are much more apt to seek legal redress than when jobs are plentiful.
Low levels of employee commitment and productivity. Studies suggest that employee loyalty is at an all time low, due largely in part to the prevalance of downsizing. Such feelings generally result in decreased productivity; reduced attention to the quality of work and increased risk for customer dissatisfaction.
Perhaps the answer to the staffing challenges of feast or famine lies in retained searches. These days, retained searches are typically conducted for only the highest levels of staff, namely the CEO, CIO and CTO. There seems to be a reluctance to use retained searches for non-senior staff. The argument being that qualified applicants may be found by employee referral or via Craigslist and similar mediums.
Or, maybe less technology, more “hands on” is the answer. Could it be that the candidate selection process depends too much on technology and companies are inadvertently eliminating qualified candidates solely on the basis of not having enough “key terms” listed in their electronically submitted resumés?
Thankfully, a few of the staffing problems we mentioned should resolve on their own in time as the economy improves. We should start to see an improvement in employee productivity and loyalty; people who are more willing to change jobs and a decrease in employee stress as vacancies are filled and the workload is redistributed.
By Jeff Garr, CEO and Frank Zych, Director of HR Services, HR Knowledge, Inc.
To read more, visit http://www.busex.com/article/operations-human-resources.HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Wed, Aug 03, 2011 @ 07:11 PM
Do you know if you are overpaying for your company sponsored Health, Dental, Life & Disability plans?
One question we frequently hear from potential clients is - "Is there is any way to tell if our sponsored group benefit plan rates are set correctly by the insurance companies?" The answer is "yes". And, there's also a way to find out how much profit your insurance company yields from your company premiums.
At HR Knowledge, we consistently reduce premiums of group benefit plans through our proprietary algorithm which can accurately determine the profitability of your group plans with the carriers.
Here are a couple of examples of companies we have helped:
A major health insurance company assessed that for the $3 million that Company A received in premiums, the insurance company had paid out $3.3 million in claims and associated expenses. The health insurer was requiring an annual
premium increase of $385,000. After running the plan financial data through our proprietary algorithm, we were able to leverage the results to secure a reduction off Company A’s renewal of $400,000, which actually resulted in a rate reduction for the client.
A major health insurance company received $1.9 million in premium and paid $2.275 million in claims, a loss of $375,000. They were requiring an increase from Company B of $271,000. After running the group’s plan data through our proprietary algorithm, we discovered that the losses were not as high as the insurance company had represented. The renewal increase was subsequently reduced to $100,000.
How we can help your company?
• We can review your benefit costs, provide a detailed analysis utilizing the proprietary algorithm to accurately determine the profitability of your group plans with the carriers. Then we'll determine more equitable pricing of these benefits.
• This analysis helps HR Knowledge negotiate your benefit group plan rates with compelling indisputable data, that the carrier underwriters clearly understand and adopt to ensure more AFFORDABLE pricing on your benefits
We impact 80% of the companies we analyze, yielding substantial savings on benefit plans. To receive a no obligation quote or “second opinion” on your group benefit plans, contact HR Knowledge at 508-339-1300
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.
Posted by
Jeff Garr on Sat, Jul 30, 2011 @ 05:25 AM
Trends in Employee Benefits -
More and more business are moving to medical plans with deductibles. Medical plans with deductibles generally provide lower premiums for the employer and employee. The challenge faced with a deductible plan is that employees have to burden a greater portion of the insurance costs. There are ways to help manage this by utilizing an outsourced HR Service provider like HR Knowledge, Inc.
A recent trend to help curtail the rising costs of health insurance is to increase the deductible, but to also implement a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). By doing so, the premiums are further reduced due to the higher deductibles, but the company “self insures” a portion of the deductible through a HRA. The HRA protects the employee as the company shares in the deductible expense. We are seeing premiums decrease by 10-20% when this strategy is implemented. After paying its portion of the HRA, a company will likely see savings of 5-10% while maintaining strong benefits.
As a licensed broker providing "Best in Class" benefits, HR Knowledge, Inc. can help your company contain costs, minimize risk, and relieve the HR administrative burden. For more comprehensive guidance on a HRA, contact HR Knowledge, Inc.at Sales@hrknowledge.com or call at 508-339-1300.
HR Knowledge is a provider of integrated HR, payroll and benefits services. Our offices are located in the Boston, MA metro area and we service companies throughout the United States.