New I-9 Form Now Available

The U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the updated Form I-9 which all employers must use to verify the identify and employment authorization of new hires no later than May 7, 2013.

Questions? Ask your HR expert.

As you will see when you look over the new I-9 document, the entire form and instructions increased in length from five to nine pages. The additional length appears to be due to a lot more detail in the instructions for both employees and employers, which is good to see. The form itself also has a different look. The layout appears to be clearer with regard to what needs to be completed and by whom.

Get the New Form here.

Required Posting Update | Post by March 7, 2013

There have been a few changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) section of your required postings effective March 8, 2013. What changed? 

  

STEP 1 

Please print this temporary flier to stay compliant ASAP & tape to current poster.  

FMLA | EFF. 3/08/2013 

STEP 2

Cardinal will soon have new posters will the updated requirements available. Request a poster be mailed to you once available.

REQUEST POSTER 

Have any questions? Feel free to give us a call! 
800.342.4742

Cover Oregon

Oregon's Health Insurance Exchange 

Once small business owners realize that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax/penalty does not apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees their next questions are usually focused on the individual mandate and the cost of health care coverage. It goes without saying that cost is foremost on the minds of most employers, especially for those companies where coverage is not offered and that outlay is not currently built into their business model.

The ACA will require anyone who does not obtain health insurance from work to buy it from their state exchange (or if there is no state exchange they will be directed to a federal exchange).  Each exchange will determine the available plans and rates for small employers (initially less than 50 employees) and individuals.  In Oregon our exchange is called Cover Oregon (www.http://coveroregon.com/). On the exchange's website there is a cost estimate for individual plans but this is based on data from the Congressional Budget Office.  The Cover Oregon website is estimating an individual plan at about $300 per month. 

Cover Oregon began taking insurance provider applications to offer health care plans on the exchange as of November 30, 2012. In the application they note that health insurance rates would need to be turned into the insurance division by March 31, 2013.  Final rates would be approved July 1, 2013 and insurance plans go on sale October 1st of the same year.  However on the draft from an Oregon Insurance Division meeting on February 26, 2013 the new deadline for turning in rates is on April 30, 2013.  It is unclear if the remaining dates will need to be changed as well.  

I should note that our health insurance exchange is ahead of the game compared to other states. Governor John Kitzhaber is a former emergency room doctor who helped craft the Oregon Health Plan.  It is hoped that Oregon will remain ahead of the game with the best possible plan for all stakeholders.

Arin J. Carmack

Helping Employees find the Greener Pasture: Your Side of the Fence

In the past few years, many companies have had to tighten their budgets in lieu of further downsizing their employee headcount as a result of the economic recession that fell onto the US during the last quarter of 2007. Consequently, organizational strategy focused on lean workforces with employees often juggling multiple roles without seeing an increase in pay or promotion in job title. Due to the fact that most companies were not hiring during those troubled years, workers simply put up with the burgeoning workloads in their current jobs. Morale often suffered, but it went by the wayside as employers struggled to keep afloat and employees realized all too well that there were few alternatives in the job market.

As the economy has seen a rebirth of job creation in many sectors, employers have been hiring again but also focusing on the damage of the past few years. Many employees who were exemplary performers often did not receive financial incentives during the recession years. These workers may now be seeking opportunities outside of the organization, especially if they continue to feel unappreciated, overburdened and if they have not yet seen a significant upturn in their compensation.

Health Insurance Strategies

Beginning in 2014 the principal part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health insurance requirement, will go into effect.  On January 1st of next year Americans will be required to obtain health insurance from an employer provided plan, or from an exchange or pay a tax/penalty.  Business owners with more than 50 employees will be faced with a similar question; to either provide health insurance or facing a $2000.00 penalty/tax per employee.  (For help in determining your full time equivalent employees as defined under the Affordable Care Act click here). 

Small Business Tax Credit

When deciding if you should offer health insurance there are a variety of things to consider.  Some companies have decided to get out of the health insurance game altogether.  Beginning 2014 these employers will offer a stipend allowing employees to go out and choose their own level of coverage.   The idea is that employees are better consumers and will choose better individual solutions for themselves while companies can limit their exposure to unpredictable swings in health insurance costs.  Another thing to consider is the recruiting and retention of employees.  In many professions offering health insurance coverage is a given while in others it is almost non-existent.  When formulating a strategy for 2014 keep in mind what your competitors are doing. 

Employers Under 50 Employees:

If you have determined that you will be under 50 employees and therefore not subject to the tax/penalty there are still a few things to consider.  Take a look at your employee count.  If you have fewer than 25 employees you may qualify for a tax credit.  Estimate the costs of providing health insurance, any tax credits and other factors to estimate your costs with each scenario.  Keep in mind your personal cost of non- compliance under the individual mandate. 

Employers close to 50 Employees:

For those just under 50 employees there will be the temptation to remain below that number. Remember that just because you are subject to the overall tax the first 30 employees still remain tax exempt.  The marginal cost of the 51^st employee is $42,000 not $102,000.

Over 50 Employees:

For employers that do not offer health insurance with a significant number of employees over 50 the coming year is causing increasing trepidation.  Many business owners are looking to see if their competitors will be passing on costs to consumers or trying one of the many strategies to lowers their costs under the Affordable Care Act.  Temporary employees are being considered more frequently as the temporary employees are counted under the temporary employer’s number of employees for the tax/penalty.  Another strategy has been to increase the number of employees and cut hours per employee.  For example a large restaurant chain signaled that they were planning on making as many of their part time employees truly part time as defined by the ACA.  Reclassifying employees as part time was accomplished by restricting the number of hours a part time employee can work to fewer than 30 hours per week.  Another time honored route to avoid payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and the like is to try and turn employees into independent contractors.  The Affordable Care Act is another reason some businesses will be looking at classifying people as 1099 independent contractors.   Enclosed is a link to the State of Oregon’s rules on independent contractors. http://www.oregon.gov/IC/pages/05-qanda02.aspx  If you go this route review your plan with someone like a CPA or attorney as there are a variety of pitfalls.  For example, the Internal Revenue Service, Oregon Employment Department and the Oregon Department of Revenue do not completely agree on the definition of an independent contractor. Other businesses are looking at breaking up their entities into groups smaller than 50 employees.   The Affordable Care Act has provisions to treat multiple businesses as one entity.  Structuring your businesses in such a manner that will not be considered as combinable is something you should review with an expert in this arena.  If you are considering this option here are links to the IRS website on controlled groups for you and your attorney and/or CPA to review.

Applicability to the PPACA - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-11-36.pdf

Guidance on controlled groups-  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/epchd704.pdf 

 A twist on independent contractors and non-combinable entities is outsourcing employees to another organization to keep your number of core employees closer to 50. Outsourcing non-core functions – from HR to accounting to shipping is easier than ever.

The Affordable Care Act is a complicated piece of legislation.  Review your options.  Put estimated price tags on each option. Evaluate what other are doing or ask your trade association. Doing so now will help avoid a scramble in the final quarter of 2013.

Arin J. Carmack

VP of Risk Management

Gossip in the Workplace

What is gossip?
There are two reasons for sharing social information. One is that the exchange of useful information helps us survive and prosper. In early years, it would have increased your chance of survival if you had an ability to learn useful information such as where the rains are falling, where the food is abundant and where the predators are. The second is to establish alliances within our group; to determine the people we trust and those that we need be careful with.

Negative Consequences of Gossip
Here are some negative consequences to consider about workplace gossip:

• Gossip damages trust and morale.
• Interferes with productivity and efficiency.
• Truths or assumptions are more likely to be distorted.
• Privacy may be violated.
• Hurt feelings and damaged reputations.
• Decreased employee satisfaction.
• Employee may be passed up for a promotion due to unprofessional behavior associated with gossip.

How to Avoid Gossip:
You may have decided that you don't want to participate in gossip, but aren't sure how to get out of the situation. Here are some ideas that may help.

• Be honest about your thoughts and feelings.
• Focus on yourself. Use “I” statements when communicating.
• Remember KISS. “Keep it Simple Silly” when confronting the behavior
• It's okay to leave the room. If it's only two people in the conversation, it's impossible for the other to keep going without you.

Here are some examples of what to say in an uncomfortable gossip situation:

I have to be honest, I don't think that talking about the problems that ______ is having behind her/his back is going to help her/him.”

“I am uncomfortable discussing this and I think it's inappropriate. I know that my feelings would be hurt if I knew my friends (co-workers) were talking about my personal problems and spreading things around.”

Why HR & Social Media Don't Mix

You may have been told that "everyone" is using Facebook as a screening tool. This may have been true for a short time, but the HR profession has thought twice about the risky practice.

In 2011, a SHRM study found that 71% of HR managers surveyed said their organization had never used or had discontinued using social networking websites to screen job candidates due to the legal risk of revealing protected characteristics, such as age, race, religious affiliation, and marital/family status. Survey respondents were also concerned about the reliability of the information found on social media sites, as well as the lack of relevance to work-related potential or past performance of the candidates.

You have probably seen those lists of interview questions NOT to ask prospective employees. They read something like:

• How many kids do you have?
• How do you spend your Sunday mornings?
• How old are you?
• Do you have any medical issues?
• Etc.

See what the NLRB says...

Now think of the kinds of information people disclose on their Facebook pages. They typically include things like:

• How many kids they have.
• How they spend their Sunday mornings.
• How old they are.
• Full summaries of their medical issues.
• Etc.

Remember, it doesn't matter if you are just "taking a peek" or don't end up using the protected information in making a hiring decision. Merely looking at a job applicant's site is enough to raise a  presumption that your hiring decision was influenced by the content of the site — after all, why else would you have looked in the first place? And remember, you can't unsee what you've seen.