June 2014 Newsletter

Involuntary Deductions

An involuntary wage deduction is defined as a non-negotiable order by a judicial entity to withhold a set amount of wages from someone who is under financial obligation. Wages withheld from your employees paychecks to satisfy government garnishments or child support orders are forms of involuntary deductions.

When such an order comes to us, we are legally obligated to honor it and there is nothing we can do to stop the order once its received. It is important for employers to be aware of the process to enforce involuntary wage deductions and the different categories of the deductions.

Types of deductions you may see are Tax Levies, Child Support Withholding Orders, Creditor Garnishments, Bankruptcy Orders, and Student Loans Collections. Once an order takes effect, the first check following the Notice to Withhold order will have the deduction.

The most common garnishment is a Child Support order. Only the IRS Tax Levy has higher priority than child support orders if it was in force first. The order received states the amount to be deducted from their wages. The amount subtracted will be from their “disposable earnings” at rate of 50-60%. The percentage is dependent upon whether the employee is supporting another spouse and/or child and if the payment is more than 12 weeks late.

Involuntary deductions do have a termination date and the deduction will end when a written release or order termination is received from the agency involved. It is important and encouraged for employees involved who have satisfied and met their debts to check in with both parties involved to ensure that there has been no overpayment and that their garnishment has been released.

It is very important to know that, as an employer you cannot fire, punish, or discriminate against an employee because of their involuntary deductions. Any employer that does so will be subject to stiff fines and can also be ordered to hire the employee back.

Harassment And Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

It is important that all clients know that Four Point HR and each Client Company are jointly responsible for any issue of Harassment and Sexual Harassment in the workplace.

A few definitions may help to better understand these two terms:

  • Harassment is verbal or physical conduct that denigrates (or shows hostility or aversion) towards an individual, because of a protected classification.
  • Sexual Harassment may include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature, when such conduct creates an offensive, hostile, or intimidating, working environment – and prevents an individual from effectively performing the duties of his or her position.

Other examples include:  Pictures, cartoons, jokes, or anything in the workplace which when used inappropriately, might make someone else uncomfortable.

There are two categories of sexual harassment and they include:

  • A Hostile, Intimidating or Offensive Work Environment
  • “Quid Pro Quo” Harassment, which means one thing in return for another.  With this kind of harassment, there is an exchange of sexual favors for improved working conditions, promotions or increased compensation.

Harassment and Sexual Harassment can exist on a continuum of behavior. For example, it can be as simple as one employee seeing something they consider offensive on the computer monitor of another employee. The most important point here is that once an employee voices their discomfort, or they specifically say that they are uncomfortable in your workplace, the Manager who is made aware of the issue must contact Four Point HR’s Human Resources Director.

Human Resources will gather facts as necessary, conduct an investigation, and work with the client manager and employees to ensure that everyone is once again comfortable in the workplace.

According to several law bulletins, the most effective way to prevent harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace is to ensure that employees know that they must speak up as soon as they feel uncomfortable. Managers must report any incident promptly, and HR representatives must move quickly to understand the facts and find a solution that will end the harassment as soon as possible.

Managerial Responsibilities include:

  • Encouraging all employees to speak up if they find themselves in a situation where they are uncomfortable.
  • Being familiar with the Harassment and Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy that Four Point HR offers all clients.
  • Reporting any incident to HR promptly — even if you are unsure if the incident is considered Harassment.
  • Listening and reacting to stray comments from employees who wish harassing behavior would stop, but they may be so intimidated they do not officially report the issue.
  • Making sure that that all employees have a safe reporting opportunity. (Remember to post the number of the business HR Director, or the FPHR Human Resources Director, so that employees will know whom to call if they do not want to talk to their immediate Manger.)
  • Remembering that as co-employers it is perfectly acceptable for employees to report any issue directly to Four Point HR, and Managers must always report any issue to Four Point HR Human Resources.

Finally, Employers (and Managers) can also be held liable for co-workers conduct if the Manager knew, or should have known about the harassment, but failed to take prompt and appropriate action to correct the situation. Any time managers have direct control over an employee population; they need to be aware of any type of harassing behavior that may be occurring in their work units.

This is a very broad subject, so we welcome questions from our clients on any part of this topic at any time.  Please contact Kathryn Schene, Director of Human Resources, Four Point HR at 727-504-9796.

Social Media And Small Business

“What is the goal for utilizing social media in your business?” Manta surveyed 1,200 small business owners across the country and 36% responded with “acquiring and engaging new customers” and 19% responded with “gaining lead generation and referrals.” Both of these have a foundation in the development of new business.

So how should small businesses plan to achieve this goal when 60% of respondents reported that they have seen no return on investment from their online marketing initiatives?  Social Media should be seen as an extension of the brick and mortar location. It allows companies to show who they are and engage actively with customers. Three steps have been identified to help Small Business owners evaluate the social media approach:

  • Create a plan. What do you want to accomplish from your social media efforts? What is your voice and how do you translate your brand into these efforts? Who, from your company, has permission to post for your company on social media sites? How will you react to negative posts?
  • Devote time to listen/converse. Who is monitoring social media chatter and how will you be sure not to miss conversations happening about your business? What conversations are happening about and with your competitors? How will start and respond to discussions about your business and industry?
  • Evaluate your efforts. Regularly assess the success of your efforts as defined by the first bullet point and make any necessary adjustments.

Those who really delve into each layer will be much more likely to see an increase in new customers.

It seems obvious that the first step should be to create a plan for social media; however, third parties who promise an exorbitant amount of new business once the social media pages have been set up are targeting many small businesses. These types of companies promote the idea that the customers will flood in. More often than not this does not happen and the small business owner has spent quite a bit of money and never sees a return.

Smaller businesses should really ease themselves into the social media arena. Think about the story and personality you want to convey in the online space. This is a way for customers to feel connected without being face to face. The creation and execution can take some time so making sure that the “right person or team” is in place is crucial. Also choosing a platform that you want to begin with is also critical. Start by taking a look at the current client base and see where they are in the social media world. Not every platform works for each type of business. It is important to remember this. If you have more than one platform make sure they are linked and maintained at the same level.

You have taken the time to create this plan now devote the time to maintain and be active. According to Manta, many small business owners reported that they devote between 1-3 hours a week to social media. Offer something that others are not. Don’t just get online to post a sale or check if you have new followers. You can build a community of loyalty through social media. It really takes more time than that to be active and learning what potential new customers want. Social media is a platform where people can share their thoughts whether they are positive or negative so take the time to see what is being said. And, don’t put up social media sites and then forget about them. Post regularly.

If small business owners can focus on building up the brand online, it will change the way social media is used for the business. It will be able to be leveraged as an added value for the company and a return on Investment will be around the corner.  It can also help with SEO strategy and help drive traffic to the company’s website.

Healthcare Premium And IRS Section 125

Too often HR or Benefits personnel are approached by an employee who would like to cancel insurance coverage after enrolling because of the associated costs and/or the financial burden that continued participation is causing.  While HR would like to take care of the request, generally their hands are tied when it comes to when starting or stopping coverage.

The majority of employer-sponsored health plans are structured to qualify for the Section 125 provision of the IRS code, which allows individuals to pay for certain benefits on a pre-tax basis. The government allows this to help make paying for insurance more affordable. Employees can save from 22.65% to 40% on their pre-tax Section 125 premium deductions. The actual tax savings are on city, state, and federal income taxes, including Social Security and Medicare taxes on all money employees use to pay for their portion of qualified insurance premiums. This is accomplished by deducting the premiums before taxes are calculated thereby reducing the tax liability. Under Section 125, employees take-home pay is increased which helps reduce the high cost of providing health coverage for family members.

While the tax savings feature is very attractive, Section 125 plans have an irrevocability rule. This rule states that once an election has been made under a Section 125 plan, it cannot be revoked during the course of the plan year except for certain allowable events. In essence, once the plan year starts, employees cannot make changes outside of the annual open enrollment period. Open enrollment is a window (usually the month before the plan renews) during which employees may add/drop their insurance, or make changes to their coverage, no questions asked. However, life changes during the course of that year can alter insurance needs making them eligible to change insurance benefits before the next enrollment period. An election change must be “on account of” and “correspond with” a change in status events that affects coverage. IRS regulations include these examples:

  • An employee’s marriage, divorce, legal separation, or annulment.
  • The death of an employee’s spouse or a dependent.
  • The birth, adoption, placement for adoption or legal guardianship of a child; a change in child custody or a court order to provide coverage for a child.
  • The commencement or termination of employment by the employee’s spouse.
  • A change from part-time to full-time employment status or vice versa by the employee or the employee’s spouse.

In light of very specific IRS regulations concerning the administration of Section 125 plans, it is vital that participants are very strategic in making benefits elections. While HR personnel would be happy to cancel or change insurance elections upon request, unless there is a qualifying life event, changes are not allowed until the next open enrollment period.

Free June Webinar

Family Medical Leave Act

Wednesday, June 18, 2014, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST

Kathryn Schene – Director of HR, Four Point HR

All Four Point HR Clients are responsible for offering FMLA to their employees. Once you have been through the process it will seem much simpler but you may still have a lot of questions. In this webinar we will review basics and then we will talk about the 3 main forms you will use and how to process them. Finally, we will talk about some “What IF” scenarios and how to manage them! Webinar agenda includes:

  • How an Employee gives Notice
  • The Employer’s Response.
  • Determining Eligibility
  • The ALL IMPORTANT Medical Certification Form
  • The Designation Notice
  • Missed Deadlines
  • Returning Employee Responsibilities

Register here: https://student.gototraining.com/r/5883167118956928000

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the Webinar.