Horizon Payroll Blogs

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. BLS) reported a decline in unemployment rate by 2.2% via their “The Employment Situation - June 2020" press release. However, because COVID-19 and the coronavirus continue to be an area of concern, it’s important to be prepared for possible layoffs. 94% of states in the BLS recorded historically high unemployment rates in 2020. View up to date unemployment numbers per state here.

Delivering news of a layoff is a difficult task for anyone to complete. Doing so with compassion is the key to a seamless transition. We’ve prepared a helpful checklist and 11 tips below to help you through the process.

Some companies are in the midst of rehiring employees laid off due to the pandemic, and for others that’s still in the future. Either way, as you make plans to protect your employees’ health, be sure you know how to protect your business too. In this post we’ll talk about two important ways you must follow the law and best practices as you continue or begin the rehiring process.

If you’ve recently made the decision to furlough or lay off employees, or are in the process, you’re not alone. Nearly 50% of companies say they are at least somewhat likely to conduct layoffs over the next three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to CNBC. What’s more, the Economic Policy Institute estimates almost 20 million jobs will be lost by this summer (see a breakdown of the estimate by state here).

As our digital footprint expands, concerns of identity theft become more commonplace both at home and at work. In response to this, data protection is now a top priority for families and businesses. The Insurance Information Institute reported 14.4 million victims of identity theft in 2018. Though this was a decrease from the year before—of 16.7 million in 2017—identity theft is still a major issue in the majority of consumer’s lives.

It’s tax time, you probably have a payroll cycle ending soon, and don’t forget those redesigned W-4s you’re getting questions about. While you’re at it, have you noted any state or local minimum wage changes for this year? If you’re lucky, you have it all under control, but if not, don’t worry. You’re not alone.

Facts about the FLSA, state requirements, and OT exemptions

Is hiring seasonal employees part of your strategy for surviving your busy season? Chances are you’ve come to depend on these workers each year, and they probably rely on you for the opportunity to earn extra money in a set period of time.

There’s no doubt it’s a profitable, if short-term, relationship between employee and employer. Don’t damage it by failing to pay overtime when it’s due. Read on to see if your seasonal employees qualify for overtime pay.

In 2019 improving employee experience will top many organizations’ to-do lists. When you think of the resources companies devote to studying and improving customer satisfaction and overall experience, it makes sense to do the same with employees. After all, these are the people that make or break a company’s success, so their experience is critical to its welfare.

"It is a worker's market," said Jocelyn Mangan (Chief Operating Officer of online employment platform at Snagajob) to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). "Employers are having to work harder."

Why? For one thing, unemployment is historically low, just 3.7 percent. That means job seekers have many options to consider. And they are taking this opportunity to comparison shop and influence the job market.

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.

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?

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?

Most of us can remember being the new person on the job. Even if you’re excited for a change, it can be a little scary when you don’t quite know what to expect from the group (or what's expected of you). Did your new co-workers help you learn the ropes, or were you left to sink or swim, clutching your benefits application and employee handbook and little else? It’s not hard to guess which scenario most people prefer. Let's talk about how to avoid the latter.

There were a few important alerts announced this month that change federal compliance for human resource management that may affect your company. We thought it was worth going through the announcements one more time. 

Every single company that exists, whether it's Coca Cola, Apple, or Acadia, has a hiring process. Some are multi-phased, some are quick and simple, some informal, and others follow strict protocol. Regardless of your company or process, someone may be pulling out their hair over how to manage the flood of applications that arrive with each job opening.

An Application Tracking System (ATS) can help. An ATS is software that allows you to manage job postings, applicants and even the hiring (aka onboarding) process. The systems vary but most allow the recruiter to post directly to popular online job boards. Then, most take submissions from those same job boards and consolidate the responses, dropping them into a database. The system then crawls through each resume and searches for key words that relate to the position, qualifications, or skills you've specified.  By selecting only the resumes that contain those key words, the system selects a group of applicants that is better qualified for the position. This reduces the number of resume a recruiter must comb through by up to 70%.