Consultstu LLC provides
fractional HR support to small/mid businesses. We develop and deliver customized solutions to meet each companies' budget and needs. Our team will support your HR needs, keep you in compliance and share new trends and solutions. Stay up to date with the latest HR, risk management, safety, recruiting and benefit news.
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EEO-1 Form deadline is September 30th
EEOC reminds employers to complete filing
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WASHINGTON DC - The EEO-1 is the annual survey that requires all private employers with 100 or more employees (and federal government contractors or first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and a contract/subcontract of $50,000 or more) to file the EEO-1 report. The filing of the EEO-1 report is required by federal law. Employers who meet the criteria listed above, or employers that filed the EEO-1 report in 2015, are required to complete the filing by September 30, 2016.
Read more.
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IRS Guidance on Incorrect SSNs on Form 1095C
Error rates of 10-15% and the IRS reasonable cause regulations
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WASHINGTON DC - One common error an employer received from the Affordable Care Act Information Return system (AIR system) when submitting a packet of Form 1095-Cs was an error reporting that a Form 1095-C was submitted with an incorrect taxpayer identification number (TIN). Since there are shortfalls with the IRS system, at a minimum employers need to verify and correct, if necessary, the name and TIN for each individual included on the Form 1095-C.
Read more.
To act reasonably (and avoid penalties) and mitigate incorrect SSNs, it is recommended that a company follow the solicitation procedures in the regulations (301.6724-1(f) and
IRS Publication 1586. Click here for the Three Steps to follow.
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Final rules issued for federal contractors, EO 13673
Guidance on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces issued by FAR and DOL
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WASHINGTON DC - On August 24, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued
guidance on Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. The Executive Order requires federal contractors and subcontractors to report violations of 14 federal laws and as yet unspecified state laws when bidding on service and supply contracts, including construction contracts. It requires federal contractors and subcontractors to provide wage statements to workers covering the workers' hours worked, overtime hours, pay and any additions made to or deductions made from pay. The contractor must supply the wage statement for each pay period. The Executive Order prohibits contractors and subcontractors, with federal contracts of at least $1 million, from requiring employees to enter into pre-dispute arbitration agreements to arbitrate sexual assault or civil rights claims.
Read more.
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| Not reporting hospitalization to OSHA costs $5,000
Ohio Manufacturer cited under new OSHA reporting regulations
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Toledo, OH - The Occupational Health and Safety Administration's Toledo Area Office cited a food plastics company for three (3) serious and one-other-than serious safety violations. Acting on a complaint after a worker suffered the partial amputation of his left thumb, inspectors began an investigation on June 28, 2016, and found violations of OSHA's machine safety standards. The maintenance employee suffered the injury on Feb. 23, 2016, while operating a plastic blow molding press. With a guard door open, the employee reached for a part when the machine's mold closed on the employee's left hand. The crushing injuries led to the amputation of the end of the employee's thumb.
The company did not report the amputation to OSHA. Read the
OSHA recordkeeping rules.
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| Not offering "light duty" work leads to EEOC lawsuit
Employee with personal illness not provided light duty, then termed
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CHICAGO - According to an EEOC lawsuit, Legendary Baking, violated the ADA by refusing to accommodate an employee with a disability and then firing her and failing to rehire her. A long-term employee at the company's Illinois baking facility, developed CSP myelopathy, a personal medical condition affecting the spinal cord. This condition required Hall to take a leave of absence in order to have surgery. While recuperating, Hall sought to return to work with restrictions in a temporary light-duty capacity, but was told that she was ineligible because such work was reserved for employees injured on the job. As a result, Hall remained on leave and was terminated for failure to return to work at the
expiration of 180 days, pursuant to Legendary Baking's leave policy. When Hall was released to full duty a month later, she sought rehire, but was denied. What does EEOC require for these situations?
Read more.
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Must travel time be paid for construction crews?
DOL regulation gives some guidance, but the answer depends on facts
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Normal home to work travel is not considered work time. Employees,such as construction workers, who commute directly from home to a job site, need not be paid for the first trip. However, if they leave a job site and continue to another one, that is "all in a day's work" according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and the employee must be paid for that travel time. If the employee's first stop of the day is the shop, and there is some work performed prior to departure, the commute time would be compensated. The f
ederal regulation 29 CFR 785.38, states that when an employee is
required to report to "a meeting place to
receive instructions or
to perform other work there, or to pick up and to carry tools" the travel from the "meeting place" to the work site "is part of the day's work and must be counted as hours worked." However, in cases where employees perform no work and just receive a free ride, the travel time was not required to be paid.
Read more about travel time cases.
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Can year end bonus count toward salary rule?
Non-discretionary bonuses may count toward 10% of new salary test
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If it is a discretionary bonus, it will not qualify. Effective December 1, the new salary regulations (from the Department of Labor) will allow non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the standard salary test requirement. Such bonuses include, for example, non-discretionary incentive bonuses tied to productivity or profitability (e.g. a bonus based on the specified percentage of the profits generated by a business in the prior quarter).
Read my blog post for more information on bonuses..
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Thank you for reading our HR newsletter. We strive to provide you with trending information to assist with compliance, prevent costly HR mistakes, control HR cost and improve overall employee satisfaction with HR and safety.
Sincerely,
Stuart Charlson, JD
HR for Business - ConsultStu, LLC
Fractional HR Services for Growing Businesses
Advisor on "Unbundling" HR services
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Disclaimer/Reminder
This newsletter does not constitute legal advice or legal services, and is solely provided for informational purposes only.
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