When you hire people of different ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, sexual orientations and genders, you demonstrate your respect for all people. Creating an inclusive hiring process may mean acknowledging systemic biases and having frank conversations about how to reverse them, but the rewards make the hard and uncomfortable work worth it. Your actions will show your employees that you are … [Read more...]

A hiring freeze occurs when an employer pauses or cancels the hiring process for open positions, ceases to create new positions, and stops accepting job applications. Hiring freezes can take different forms; for example, an employer may continue hiring for essential roles but stop hiring for nonessential ones, or they may halt hiring only in specific departments. Hiring freezes are often sudden … [Read more...]

The recruitment landscape has become more complex in recent years. The rate of globalization has risen, the ebb and flow of the labor market has become more unstable, and remote work has become several times more common. For these reasons, digitization in human resources is more important than ever. To better control the hiring process, employers are leveraging recruitment dashboards. … [Read more...]

Are your employees really employees, or are they actually independent contractors? It's not just semantics; the IRS makes a stark distinction. You don't generally have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments to independent contractors, as you do with employees. If you're a business owner hiring or contracting with other individuals to provide services, consider the following: What degree of … [Read more...]

Under IRS and Department of Labor rules, employers whose 401(k) plans have over 120 eligible participants on the first day of the plan year must hire an Independent Qualified Public Accountant (IQPA) to audit the plan for that year. These mandatory audits can uncover 401(k) processes needing improvement and help you avoid penalties from the IRS or DOL. Whether or not you're legally required to … [Read more...]

A 2021 survey by the consulting agency beqom found that 80% of U.S. workers expect their employers to let them work remotely multiple days per week. Most respondents, 65%, also said they would accept a pay cut to work remotely. Additionally, a 2021 survey by PayScale revealed that 65% of employers are permitting employees to work from home as needed. However, 81% of employers do not have a pay … [Read more...]

Remote offices may be the wave of the future, but many employees are still unsure about how to make remote employment work. Fortunately, some commonsense guidelines can help both employers and employees. Cybersecurity One important consideration is technology. Employees in remote offices need access to the same people and resources they would have in your main office, so added security is … [Read more...]

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is a sweeping piece of legislation that can be overwhelming to administer at the company level. Moreover, failure to comply with COBRA can be costly — with penalties ranging from monetary fines imposed by the IRS and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to legal fees and civil lawsuit damages. To avoid noncompliance, pay … [Read more...]

Employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act are required to pay nonexempt employees for all hours worked. It sounds simple enough, but many people fail to understand all the forms an hour of work can take. Not understanding the nuances of this principle can lead to payroll mistakes. Below are some pitfalls to avoid. Improperly interpreting hours worked According to the Department of … [Read more...]

Are you sure you know whether your employees are considered exempt or nonexempt? It's important to classify workers correctly because their status determines their eligibility to receive overtime pay. Even if you think you know the difference between exempt and nonexempt status, there are some fine points of which you may be unaware. The Fair Labor Standards Act generally requires overtime pay … [Read more...]