Horizon Payroll Solutions Blog

The Ins and Outs of Vacation for Exempt Employees

Summer is here and that means employees are making vacation plans. While your hourly employees, non-exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), don’t get paid for hours they don’t work, it’s a little more complicated for exempt employees. What happens if they don’t have enough paid time off banked to cover their vacation? What if someone wants to take a half day off the last day before they leave for a trip? Do you have to pay your salaried employees even though your office will be closed on July 4? It’s enough to tempt you to extend your own vacation indefinitely!

Exempt vs. Non-Exempt

It’s Always the Right Time to Watch for Time Card Falsification

As an employer, you know the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires you to track how long your hourly employees work and what they earn. How you do it, though, is up to you.

Each method has its share of pitfalls:

Hand-written timesheets - One of the oldest methods, completed by either the employee or the employer. Of course, it’s not too hard to alter a document like this, or to question legibility of the numbers.
Punch clocks – Harder to alter by hand, but in many cases there’s little to keep a co-worker from punching in or out for someone else, commonly called “buddy punching.”
Computerized and biometric timekeeping – These simplify tracking and reporting data, and it’s pretty hard to fake out a fingerprint scanner. But, they can’t prevent employees from clocking in on time and making personal phone calls or surfing the web instead of starting work. And it may still be possible to enter unauthorized overtime.

automated timekeeping

The Buck Stops … Where? Understanding Co-Employment

In 2016, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman petitioned the state’s Supreme Court, alleging that Domino’s Pizza was a joint employer and therefore liable for “systematic underpayment” of employees at three franchises. Schneiderman says Domino’s violated New York’s Franchise Sales Act by requiring franchisees to use software known to under-calculate wages. The franchisees settled in 2017, but Domino’s Corporate remains the sole defendant. Schneiderman claims “Domino's was heavily involved in the employment practices of the three franchisees and, as a result, is a joint employer of the workers at the franchisees' stores and is responsible for underpaid wages to these workers,” reports Long Island.com.

franchisee joint employment franchise

Exempt vs Non-exempt: New FLSA Final Rule in the Making

If you follow labor news and legislation (and what smart business leader doesn’t?), you may have noticed the recent lack of headlines about the FLSA Final Rule. Announced in May 2016 under the Obama Department of Labor (DOL), the Final Rule raised the salary threshold for employees exempt from overtime from $23,600.00 annually (or $455.00 per week) to $47,476.00 annually (or $913.00 per week). This was the first threshold adjustment since 2004. The threshold is one of the keys to determining if employees are exempt from overtime.

fair labor standards act overtime HR Exempt vs. Non-Exempt

Don’t Trip on the Threshold! Which Laws Apply Once You Have 15 Employees?

Congratulations! Your business has grown to 15 employees! Since your very first hires you’ve complied with labor laws like the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the Equal Pay Act and, if you provide benefits, HIPPA. But did you know that 15 employees is a threshold for additional labor law requirements? Here’s what you need to know.

HR Hiring

Toss the Schedule Spreadsheet, Watch Your Shop Floor Excel

Your top performer on a critical workstation just called in sick. If you can’t get the shift covered you won’t complete an order for your important new client, and you’re barely keeping up as it is. Which of your employees is available on short notice AND trained on the equipment?

It’s Phishing Season: Don’t Take the Bait

We've blogged on phishing before, but it's time for a refresh. In 2017 the IRS received approximately 900 complaints about phishing and suspected scams. That’s up from about 100 in 2016, and the number is expected to grow again in 2018. According to the IRS, in 2017 “more than 200 employers were victimized, which translated into hundreds of thousands of employees who had their identities compromised.” Don’t let your company be the next victim.

phishing

Fight Workplace Harassment, Encourage Safety, Respect

As you've probably heard, sexual harassment is making headlines. Men and women, from Hollywood stars to everyday people, are speaking out - and perpetrators are facing hefty consequences. No complaints at your company? Don’t breathe a sigh of relief quite yet; just because you haven’t heard about harassment at work doesn’t mean it’s not there. Make no mistake, harassment encompasses far more than dirty jokes or unwanted advances. You should know all the forms of harassing behavior, what to do about them and how to promote a workplace culture that doesn’t tolerate them.

harassment

Help Wanted? Here’s How to Find Qualified Candidates

Like many U.S. employers, you may be looking to fill or create new jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there are 5.9 million U.S. job openings as of November 2017. But with millions seeking employment, how can you reach qualified candidates?

recruiting

Absenteeism: A Symptom You Can’t Afford to Ignore

Employee absences are inevitable. Scheduled or not, legitimate or not, absences mean less work completed as time and money go to paid sick time and overtime, picking up the slack, training a sub, or bringing in a temp. And don’t forget “soft” costs like increased workload, coworker resentment and reduced productivity. Absenteeism may be an unavoidable part of life at work, but it can be managed. The time you spend tracking attendance helps you find ways to improve it. Besides, what you learn about your employees’ absenteeism could be like the canary in the coalmine – a sign that something else is wrong.

Human Resources absenteeism

Stop Terminating Your Employees (Until You’ve Read Our Essential Guide)

It’s inevitable. The employee you thought would rocket to the top of your corporate ladder has been consistently slipping. Performance is taking a nosedive and careless mistakes are adding up. Eventually, it becomes clear you can’t fix this problem employee. You’ll have to let them go.

workforce reduction

Taxes, Wages and ACA Compliance: Don’t Drop the Ball in the New Year

2018 is coming fast! Are you paying attention to the changes and deadlines that are right around the corner? Our tips will help you navigate changes to tax and wage rates and stay compliant with the Affordable Care Act.

Taxes minimum wage Affordable Care Act

End Your HR Year by Setting Up 2018 for Success

Ask anyone who works in human resources about the signs of autumn - chances are, leaf colors and pumpkin spice beverages aren't at the top of the list. In the HR world, open enrollment, preparing form 1095-C and setting up next year’s payroll schedule are really what signal that fall is here. There’s paperwork to file (or e-file), employee data to verify and did we mention the deadlines? It can make for a hectic time with lots of projects to keep track of. Read on to stay organized and manage the chaos.

Human Resources Regulations

Boomerang Employees: Tips for Rehiring

It used to be that once an employee left a job, they were cutting ties with the organization forever. However, it’s becoming more common for employers to rehire former employees, anyone from seasonal workers to full-time professionals. A 2015 national survey of more than 1,800 human resources professionals, managers and employees found that ”nearly half of HR professionals claim their organization previously had a policy against rehiring former employees – even if the employee left in good standing – but 76 percent say they are more accepting of hiring boomerang employees today than in the past.” So - how do you do it right?

HR Hiring rehiring

Strong US Economy Heading into Q4

In July the Dow hit a record high of 22,000 and it continues to climb as 2017 rolls on. While the stock market is volatile and influenced by many factors, the Dow's continued growth is one sign that the economy is strong. Here are a few other key indicators that are looking up as the US heads into Q4, indicators every employer should be familiar with.

US Economy

Exit Interviews: Let Departing Employees Get the Last Word

Employees facing exit interviews need only look to Google for article after article offering guidance on what to say and what not to say. Leaving a job can be an emotional roller coaster, so employees are often advised to be constructive and diplomatic, honest but guarded and most of all, to avoid burning bridges. There’s an art to giving constructive criticism without breaking confidence with coworkers or making one’s manager look bad. Not everyone can pull it off and some don’t even want to try. The result for employers? Vague answers to exit interview questions and a lack of actionable insights. But, there’s plenty you can do to help departing employees give useful feedback while still taking the high road.

HR Exit Interview

Reduce Overtime Monitoring to Just Minutes a Week

Are you a business owner? Or maybe a supervisor with hourly employees? Are you running shifts that vary according to your staffing needs? Then you're probably well aware that mismanagement of overtime can increase labor costs in addition to having significant compliance implications.

overtime

Hiring Minors? Follow These 5 Best Practices

In October 2015, 23.7% of US high school students age 16-19 had jobs. Where are these young people working? According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, industries in accommodation and food services (e.g. restaurants, hotels), retail (including grocery and food stores) and arts, entertainment and recreation (including amusement parks) see the highest numbers of youth workers. These tend to be companies looking for entry-level, minimum wage and temporary workers, maybe even yours.

FLSA Minor Employees

When Is An Independent Contractor Really An Employee?

In our blog last week, we explored the general problem of employee misclassification. This week we're taking a closer look at independent contractor versus employee status.

Employer vs. Contractor

Can You Afford to Misclassify Your Workers?

It’s Monday morning: Employees make their way to their workstations, the Keurig whirrs in the break room and the office starts to hum along as usual. Then, an employee approaches you and says that he’s done some research and discovered that his exempt job has been misclassified, and he’s actually nonexempt. What? No one has ever questioned their job status before, and your company’s job titles and descriptions are all in order. Is this employee correct? Are there others? How is a misclassification fixed? Or do you need to do anything about it? If he’s right, does the company owe him money? Are there tax penalties?

It’s going to be a long week.

HR Exempt vs. Non-Exempt

All posts Next