by Carolyn Kick | Nov 25, 2020 | COVID-19 Resources, Employee Benefits
Each new calendar year brings significant changes in the form of laws and regulations affecting employee benefits and general HR compliance. And this year, with the ongoing COVID-pandemic, employers are facing more unprecedented challenges that ever before. In this post, we’ll cover some of the main employee benefits issues that you’ll need to be aware of as we head into 2021.
Specifically, we’ll cover:
- Furloughs
- COVID Testing
- Uncertainty of Healthcare Under New Presidential Administration
- Deferred Renewals
- Employees Going Remote and/or Relocating
- Second COVID Wave and Corresponding Government Response
- Cares Act COVID Benefit
1. Furloughs
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many state governments passed legislation to relax the eligibility requirements for furloughed employees to retain their benefits. Many of these regulatory actions were temporary and will expire as of January 1st, 2021.
Business owners should review the legislation that was passed in their states to determine if this circumstance will apply to them and any of their employees who remain furloughed. It’s also key to remain vigilant for any new legislation that may pass in the coming month around the topic of furloughs.
2. COVID Testing
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which was signed into law by President Trump on March 18, 2020 to respond to the pandemic, ensures that, “COVID-19 testing is free to anyone in the U.S., including the uninsured.” However, this provision will expire on December 31, 2020. This means that COVID testing will no longer be free, unless the Federal Government passes further legislation to extend free testing.
Consult directly with your healthcare provider to determine what their plans are for covering COVID testing as of January 1st, if any.
3. Uncertainty of Healthcare Under New Presidential Administration
Healthcare is always a topic of heated debate, especially during election years like 2020. This has caused many employers to ask themselves: what will healthcare look like under the Biden/Harris administration?
Biden plans to build off the ACA’s framework and expand a public health option similar to Medicare. This public option would directly compete with private insurance providers and would be available to anyone, regardless of whether their employer offers qualified-health plans. Additionally, regarding Medicare, Biden has proposed lowering the eligibility age to 60 from 65.
If Biden is successful in either of these healthcare initiatives, it would certainly flip healthcare as we currently know it upside down. Employers must remain tuned-into ongoing legislative conversations as the Biden administration begins their transition into the White House.
4. Deferred Renewals
Many benefits carriers handed out rate passes or premium holidays in light of the pandemic, regardless of loss ratios. Will these actions ultimately lead to significant renewals in 2021 for their clients? If your carrier granted you a rate pass or premium holiday, be sure you take that into consideration as you prepare to make decisions about renewing coverage with that provider.
5. Employees Going Remote and/or Relocating
Perhaps the most significant long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is that many employees will become permanent work-from-home employees. This will give many people more flexibility with their living arrangements, and some will likely choose to relocate now that they can work from anywhere. This will undoubtably be a trend in 2021.
Employers should reevaluate benefit offerings to allow for these remote employees to have proper coverage wherever they may be. As a business leader, it’s crucial you work hand-in-hand with your benefits broker during this time to ensure you are addressing the healthcare needs of a newly remote workforce.
6. Second COVID Wave and Corresponding Government Response
Recent news about the positive preliminary results of potential coronavirus vaccines has provided a light at the end of the tunnel. However, cases are still surging in most states around the country. It is clear that we are in a second, more powerful wave of infections. However, the Federal Government has yet to pass any significant legislation to follow up the FFCRA or CARES ACT that were passed in March. With the election behind us, keep a close eye on the government to see what relief bills may be passed in the coming weeks and months.
Additionally, employers should be on the watch for any “stay-at-home” restrictions that are put in place, by either the federal government or by local state or city governments.
Whatever legislation ends up passing, if any, pay special attention to what it implies for “non-essential” businesses that need to have employees in-person. If extreme “stay-at-home” restrictions are put back in place, how will employees meet hourly requirements to maintain benefits?
If you haven’t already, you should be developing contingency plans to deal with varying levels of government restriction so that you know how to address these potential issues with your employees.
7. CARES Act COVID Benefit
As briefly mentioned in the previous section, the Federal Government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March. Under the CARES Act, the government helps reimburse employees who are out of work due to COVID so the employer is not paying out of their employer Short Term Disability policy.
The question remains, will the CARES Act benefit continue throughout 2021 or will employers bear the financial brunt? Many employers are hopeful the federal government will take steps over the next few weeks to clarify what the future of the CARES Act will be.
Key Takeaways
From an HR and employee benefits perspective, we’ll enter the year 2021 with much uncertainty about how the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to affect the workplace. However, there are a few areas that employers will want to keep an eye on in the coming weeks and months so that they’ll have a better idea of what they’ll face in 2021:
- Furloughs – Will regulatory actions that help furloughed employees retain their benefits continue into 2021?
- COVID Testing – Will testing for COVID-19 still be free after December 31st, 2020?
- Uncertainty of Healthcare Under New Presidential Administration – What will happen to the healthcare industry and Medicare under the incoming Biden Administration?
- Deferred Renewals – Will benefits carriers see significant renewals increases in 2021 due to benefits holidays or rate passes that were handed out in 2020?
- Employees Going Remote and/or Relocating – How must employers adjust their benefits plans to address the needs of a remote workforce?
- Second COVID Wave and Corresponding Government Response – How significant will this second wave of COVID infections become, and what will be the response of federal, state, and local governments?
- Cares Act COVID Benefit – Will the Federal Government extend the CARES ACT (or pass any follow-up legislation)?
by Dan Morris | Nov 23, 2020 | COVID-19 Resources, Leadership
The modern workplace as we knew it is likely gone forever. COVID-19 has turned many industries and their respective workplaces upside down. For most office and administrative positions, employees are now working remotely – and there’s a chance they’ll never return to the office full-time.
Schools have been equally affected; the majority of public and private schools have sent students home to learn remotely at least part-time.
These two trends create quite the challenge for working parents. They must balance their daily work schedules, which likely include several virtual meetings and many other responsibilities, with the schedules of their children who are now home part—or all—of the day.
As an employer, you’re still trying to get the most out of your employees with children at home. However, it’s clear that the balancing act they are attempting is no easy task.
In this post, we’ll outline some strategies that employers can implement to support their staff with children during this challenging time.
Specifically, we’ll recommend that you:
- Be aware of all your support options
- Be flexible
- Consider long-term outcomes
- Be cautious
Be Aware of All Your Support Options
There are most likely certain laws and other processes that are already established that you can implement to support your employees with children.
First, consider supporting your employees by contributing to their child care costs. The Internal Revenue Service allows companies to claim a tax break of 10 or 25 percent of child care costs for their employees (up to $150,000/year – click here to learn more about this credit). This obviously might not apply to every employee, as some parents understandably want to avoid sending their children to a daycare provider during COVID. However, there are still many parents in the workforce who would be willing to consider daycare options if their employers help cover some of the costs. Consider setting up a meeting with your employees and HR leadership to discuss if this is a realistic way for your company to help your employees.
Second, be sure you understand all the benefits options that you are already offering to your employees. If you have an employee assistance program, identify the services therein that would be most beneficial to your employees at this time. Work with HR to send out a reminder to all of your employees about those services. For example, perhaps your employee assistance program offers free sessions with counselors or time-management coaches for your employees. If you aren’t up to speed on everything that’s offered under your employee assistance program, schedule a meeting with HR so they can help you become better acquainted with it. Then, pass on that knowledge to your employees who need it the most – in this case the employees with children at home.
Be Flexible
COVID-19 has most likely created many challenges for your business. Understandably, your mind is probably racing about how you can improve inefficiencies and reduce costs in order to increase profitability. However, don’t let this mindset keep you from being flexible with your employees that have children at home.
Raising children takes time. With parents and their children primarily constrained to the house during regular daytime hours, the time commitment required to keep those kids fed, dressed, and focus on their schoolwork increases significantly.
You must understand that your employees with children will experience interruptions during the workday – there’s no way to avoid it. Penalizing your employees for these interruptions will backfire.
Instead, show empathy towards them and their situations by being as flexible as possible. Perhaps the 8:30 AM Zoom call will need to be pushed to 9:00 AM. And when it’s time for that meeting, forgive the background noise that might be sneaking through their microphone.
Work hand-in-hand with your employees to determine the areas that they’ll need the most flexibility, and try to determine if there are any particular times of day that are difficult for them to stay 100% focused on work (for example, lunch time with the kids, or early-morning when setting up their child’s remote learning station).
Consider Long-Term Outcomes
Employers have been faced with many difficult decisions in 2020. As is the case with any decision in the business world, you must weigh the anticipated costs and benefits of your decisions. As you consider ways that you can support your employees with children during the pandemic, you must also weigh the costs and benefits of those decisions.
Contributing towards child care costs or ramping up your employee assistance program (as we’ve discussed in previous sections) are expensive strategies to pursue. However, take a moment to consider what the long-term outcomes of these decisions might be.
The pandemic will end eventually. The economy will improve, and there will be opportunities for your business to get back on track. When this time comes, would you rather have employees who are satisfied with how they were treated during COVID, or would you rather have employees who felt they weren’t properly taken care of and supported?
When the pandemic ends, having motivated, happy, loyal employees will likely be your most valuable asset.
Be Cautious
The last topic we’ll discuss in this post is the need to be cautious. Already, companies have been sued by employees who are unhappy about their employers’ accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employment law experts expect this trend to continue, unfortunately.
Work with your legal counsel to ensure full compliance with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). This act requires, “certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to covid-19.” Learn more about the FFCRA by clicking here.
As you make decisions related to approving or denying FFCRA leave for your employees, don’t forget to consider how your decisions will either increase or decrease the risk of facing lawsuits or government fines. As we spoke about in the previous section, don’t be afraid to make sacrifices in the short term to protect yourself and your business in the long term. For example, if you aren’t sure whether to approve or deny an employee’s FFCRA leave request, it may be better to err on the side of caution and approve the leave so that you reduce the risk of potential lawsuits.
Key Takeaways
Employees who have children at home during the pandemic are facing significant challenges. Balancing daily work schedules with the schedules of their children is not an easy task, and there will certainly be scheduling conflicts that affect their work to some degree.
Employers should be empathetic of the circumstances of their employees with children at home.
Some strategies that employers can implement include:
- Being aware of tax breaks and employment benefits that are in place that benefit both the employer and the employees.
- Being as flexible as possible with employees
- Keeping a long term perspective, as the pandemic will end someday and having happy employees will be a very valuable resource at that time
Of course, employers should also be aware of FFCRA regulations and regularly consult their legal counsel about leave decisions during the pandemic.
by Carolyn Kick | Nov 19, 2020 | COVID-19 Resources
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have faced a number of unprecedented challenges. It has dramatically launched us forward in what has been the most rapid transformation of the workforce ever seen – creating a new normal that prioritizes the use of technology and innovative thinking. For example, remote work has become a standard for many businesses. As a result, we’ve turned to technology to digitally maintain employer-employee relationships.
Employers have been forced to make a lot of tough calls over the past few months. Those who have adapted their business practices have reaped the rewards, while those who failed to change have been set back and exposed to increased risks.
As we continue to respond to COVID-19 in the workplace, we must also be thinking about recovery and the post-COVID economy. With this, a new approach to benefits and communications will be absolutely critical to both employers and employees. While the timeline is difficult to predict, it is clear that the post-COVID economy will embody this new normal, and employers and employees alike will experience many changes to our habits, the way we work, and how we live our daily lives.
New Challenges for Employers and Employees
Many employers are having difficulty shifting their workforce to remote work, particularly if it is the employees’ first working entirely remotely. Remote work poses many challenges such as availability and accessibility, fostering engagement and communication, recognizing the effects of social isolation, and implementing a way to meet this culture of isolation with trust and support for one another.
In addition, employees are experiencing more stress than before. COVID related stressors can include social isolation, remote learning, technological challenges, disruption to routines, work/life balance, and financial uncertainty. These stressors can have a big impact on mental health, employee performance, and, in turn, the bottom-line of their employer. Pre-COVID statistics estimated that stressors and their effect on employee performance cost U.S. businesses roughly $500 billion annually. Since the outbreak, COVID-19 has taken a serious toll on workers’ mental health, which will only continue to increase the financial impact on employers.
In a report by The Society for Human Resources Management, data showed that financial stress was the leading cause of loss of productivity, followed by unplanned absence, lower job performance, and greater distractions among employees. This stress has certainly increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, giving employers a financial incentive to improve this condition and put in place measures to improve the mental health and wellbeing of their employees.
In order to succeed in this unprecedented time, employers and employees need to have an equal commitment to one another’s success and well-being. While we have been headed in the right direction to an employer-employee relationship based on mutual respect, flexibility, inclusivity, and shared goals, COVID-19 has accelerated this and given us all an opportunity to make significant progress. Health and safety must be placed in front of profits – not only creating greater trust in employer-employee relationships, but bringing a new sense of humanity into the workplace.
How to Adjust to the New Normal
We all have to adjust to the new normal. The right approach is one that creates trust between employers and employees and encourages communication and resourcefulness. The hope is that, moving forward, employers will recognize that this new relationship with employees will become their foundation for success. Here are a few things that employers must consider as we continue to navigate these uncertain times.
1. Learn To Be Agile
We’ve never before had so many people start working from home at the same time. A pre-COVID mentality would likely suggest that this level of remote was entirely infeasible. However, as the events unfolded, it revealed that we are indeed capable of adapting more quickly than we ever thought possible. Employers now understand just how agile they can be and that they must continue to consider this moving forward. How can you apply this agility to other areas of your business? Which traditional processes can be shifted and which ones can’t? Those who are able to find more efficient and cost-effective ways to operate will be the ones to succeed in the new normal.
2. Create Trust and Transparency
As we face uncertainty, it is required that we support one another. In doing so, trust has taken the place of control. Employees are operating with less oversight and learning what works and what doesn’t on their own. While we may have conducted virtual meetings before, now that it has become the norm, we are learning how to communicate in a way that is more transparent. Employers must continue to build adaptive teams, communicate clearly, and prioritize connection and trust.
3. Prioritize Individual Well-Being
COVID-19 has put pressures on employees in ways that we’ve never seen. It has created a mandate to address and expand the way we approach the mental health of the workforce. Individual well-being is being prioritized over profits. Employers that have resisted implementing remote work policies in the past are now allowing employees to work from home. Employees that don’t feel safe coming into work can express this without fear of termination and employers are allowing for flexibility in schedules to accommodate the needs of their employees’ families. Employers must continue to rebalance their priorities, making individual well-being equally as important in their strategic thinking as cost and efficiency.
by Carolyn Kick | Nov 19, 2020 | Employee Benefits
Has choosing a healthcare plan become too complicated? According to research conducted by Medical Xpress, when given the option between two employer-sponsored healthcare plans, nearly 25% of employees chose the option that was less financially beneficial to them – despite the fact that both plans offered the same non-cost benefits.
Medical Xpress wanted to determine just how difficult it was for employees to make the most beneficial decision when presented with just two options. Both options were the exact same in every way except for cost, with one of the two healthcare plans having higher premiums and lower out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. deductibles, co-payments). According to the research, the plan with lower premiums and higher out-of-pocket expenses was more financially beneficial to 97% of the 2,300 employees in the study.
Despite this fact, 23% of the employees chose the plan with higher premiums – a mistake that would cost them more than $2,000 a year on average.
Why It Matters
For nearly 180 million Americans, employer-sponsored healthcare is a necessity to help with the expenses of medical care. In 2020, the average insured worker is spending over $5,500 in premiums and more than 8% of their total spending goes to healthcare expenses.
Typically, employees are given an option of at least two healthcare plans. The decision of which healthcare plan will be most beneficial to the employee is determined by two factors: 1.) The expected amount of care they will need for the upcoming year, and 2.) The amount of risk they are willing to take on. In most cases, if an employee expects they will need less care, it makes sense for them to choose the option with a lower monthly premium and higher out-of-pocket costs. Nonetheless, evidence shows that when employees have too many options, they routinely make poor health insurance decisions.
That said, based on the study conducted by Medical Xpress, while choice overload might play a role in poor decision making, it is not the primary reason employees are having such a difficult time making the best benefits decisions.
Healthcare practitioners and policymakers have been trying to help employees make better benefits decisions for quite some time now, yet with little progress. For example, using algorithms to provide individuals with a “smart default” plan that fits their needs best. Despite these efforts, the issue still exists. The truth is, helping employees make better benefits decisions is a difficult challenge.
While it will not eliminate all health benefit decision-making errors, simplifying the choices would help. Additionally, providing more search and analysis tools to employees would also make it easier for employees to make a better informed decision.
What You Can Do to Help Your Employees
There are many ways you can help your employees make better benefits decisions. Here are a few of the things you can do for your employees to help reduce this issue within your organization:
Plan Design – To encourage your employees to become responsible healthcare consumers and take control over their healthcare costs, you should work with your benefits broker to develop effective plan designs that give employees more control and more choice in their benefits selection.
Employee Engagement – Employees need to be aware of their role as consumers and engage with their healthcare decisions. Your employee engagement efforts should centered around crafting a healthcare approach that addresses employee concerns and needs. Once you have created a healthcare environment that is conducive to employee engagement, you should work directly with your employees to get them to take control of their healthcare decisions.
Employee Education – You should provide your employees with the resources they need to truly understand their options and best provide for their health while reducing healthcare expenses for themselves and you as an employer. In addition to utilizing external resources to give your employees access to education, you should maintain consistent communication with your employees about their healthcare options, the tools available to them, and any changes to their benefits. The right employee benefits broker will take a hands-on approach to employee benefits education, working directly with your team to help them select the best plan for their needs.
Empowering Employees – Once you have given your employees the insurance options that maximize their role as consumers and the engagement and education that makes them informed consumers, it’s time to provide them with the tools they need to become empowered consumers. There are more options than ever to manage healthcare and reduce expenses such as telehealth, pharmacy savings cards, and various benefits enrollment platforms. If you need help in deciding which of these tools are best for your business, your broker can advise on how to harness the power of modern benefits technology.
by Carolyn Kick | Nov 13, 2020 | COVID-19 Resources, Human Resources, Leadership
It’s natural for managers to wonder about their employees’ productivity levels in a remote work environment. Since the transition from a highly collaborative and supervised office to scattered, private homes, working people have faced a range of obstacles that have impaired or even prevented them from achieving the level of productivity that they and their managers were accustomed to before the pandemic. While this new approach to working can certainly be difficult, it is possible to continue operating at the level of success you enjoyed at the office- provided employees and managers have the right practices and procedures in place that enable everyone to stay accountable and feel supported.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- Defining success for your team in a remote environment
- Creating consistency to build trust
- Reinforcing relationships to help employees grow
Define What Success Means to Your Team
Success has a unique meaning for every team, but it is almost always easier to meet and achieve when everyone involved agrees upon what success looks like. With clear communication being a more crucial component of success than ever before, it’s important for managers to ensure that everyone on their team understands their unique role and responsibility in reaching organizational achievement. Though many companies have been working remote since the pandemic began, now may be a good time to gather your team and revisit (or even introduce) mutually agreed upon parameters and goals that will help employees understand what is expected of them. These parameters can include establishing a range of hours during which all employees are expected to be reachable, being intentional about communicating next steps on a project, or accomplishing more individualized, measurable goals specific to an employee’s job title. By aligning your expectations and goals, everyone on your team will have a clearer picture of how they are to move forward in this novel working environment.
Build Trust Through Consistency and Dependability
Trust between colleagues is one of the most important foundational necessities for a successful team or organization, and it’s especially important to reinforce when employees and managers do not have the chance to interact as a result of working remote. One such way to increase a shared sense of trust is to ensure that you’re communicating and sticking to responsibilities, deadlines, and commitments. Whether you’re an employee or a manager, consistently demonstrating that you’re a dependable worker helps to foster a sense of accountability throughout the organization and provides crucial support to your colleagues and your organization. Building trust in a virtual environment is also about making the extra effort and being transparent. Managers should schedule weekly check-ins with their employees and remind their team that it’s okay to feel unsure and anxious during this time. Colleagues that trust one another in both a personal and a professional capacity are often more productive, leading to better outcomes and a higher level of success.
Reinforce Relationships
Working from home for an extended period of time can often lead to employees feeling isolated, siloed, and insecure. These feelings of disconnectedness are stressful for employees and typically affect their productivity levels. Managers should seek out regular opportunities to have meaningful interactions with their employees over video or IM chat and foster a sense of community on their team by reminding employees that they can reach out if they are struggling. Frequently pairing up remote workers on projects or assignments is a great way to promote collaboration between colleagues and alleviate some of those feelings of isolation. Do not underestimate the effect of virtual employee engagement either- hold virtual happy hours, come up with a few fun games during team meetings, or even have virtual lunch together. A little personal connection goes a long way and helps to make this challenging time a little easier for everyone.
Finally, don’t let your remote status prevent you from encouraging and advancing your employees’ talent and career aspirations. As new technology supports an organization’s ability to seek out the best and most qualified candidates, regardless of their home address, companies may find they have to step up their game in order to retain top or burgeoning talent. While an employee’s ambitions are ultimately up to them, their advancement is something that should be regularly discussed. Encourage them to express any future aspirations they might have and make it part of your job to help them achieve those goals- even if it might be a heavier lift in a remote environment.
Key Takeaways
This shift from office culture to an online environment has been complex and unstable at times, but this shift has also removed boundaries and encouraged new modes of doing business. Managers have an opportunity to capitalize on those new advantages and minimize the negative effects of remote work by keeping the following suggestions in mind:
- Clearly define what success looks like for your team and how it is to be achieved. When each individual member knows what is expected of them and their colleagues, they function at a smoother and faster pace
- Trust is the foundation of success. By reinforcing a strong sense of trust between colleagues through accountability and transparency, managers can expect healthy levels of productivity and employees may experience less stress and uncertainty in their role
- Maintaining relationships is more important than ever now that interaction between team members is limited. Make it a regular priority to check in with employees on how they’re doing, find ways to engage the team as a group, and continue to support your employees’ career aspirations.
by Carolyn Kick | Nov 13, 2020 | Compliance, COVID-19 Resources, Human Resources
Among the many challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, one issue facing employers has proven to be more difficult to face than others. Unemployment fraud has become an excessive problem for many – one that, until now, many employers haven’t had to concern themselves with. Unemployment claims are being processed in numbers that have never been seen before, and many state unemployment departments are doing so with insufficient controls and outdated systems.
We hope to provide employers with the information they’ll need to understand and address this growing issue by offering a set of best practices and action steps for both employers and employees that have been affected by fraudulent unemployment claims.
A Case of Unemployment Fraud
The Illinois Department of Employment Security or IDES is the agency responsible for processing unemployment claims in the state of Illinois. They receive claims, verify them using data reported by employers, and then process payments if employees are found to be eligible – a rather straight forward process under typical circumstances. However, due to COVID-19 and the impact it has had on the workforce, they have seen a tremendous increase in the number of claims being processed. In addition, there is a demand to process claims more quickly. In meeting this demand, the level of scrutiny used to process claims has decreased. With heightened demands, less scrutiny, and the use of insufficient controls, the result has been excessive fraud.
The IDES reports receiving approximately 14,000 claims of identity theft in only five months. A dramatic increase compared to just a year ago, reporting just 651 in the same time frame. There have been several reports from employees of other instances indicative of fraud as well, such as IDES debit cards unexpectedly arriving in the mail, letters for deceased spouses, and claims for children who have never been employed.
Multiple stories from Illinois and national news stations revealed several cases of fraudulent activity in both the state of Illinois and nationwide. You can view them here:
What Does It Mean For Employers?
Unemployment benefits function similarly to health insurance. In most instances, the employer will pay into an unemployment fund which is handled by the state and determined by their tax rate. Unemployment claims are granted based on the eligibility of the employee (despite how much the employer has paid into the fund). In the case of Illinois, the tax rate is determined by the dollar amount of claims paid by the employer in the previous year as a portion of total payroll. This creates a big issue the more claims there are to be paid. The tax rate increases as the number of claims paid out rises. Therefore, fraudulent unemployment claims have a direct impact on the amount paid in unemployment taxes. The difference, based on the current minimum and maximum tax rates, could be as much as ten times more than what is normal.
How Employers Can Take Action
Regardless of legitimacy, when an unemployment case is filed, employers will receive a notice of claim. As the employer, if you receive a notice of claim, and the employee is still employed, you should immediately dispute the claim according to the process of your state. Additionally, you should take the opportunity to alert the department responsible for processing claims that there is suspected fraud on the claim. You should also notify the employee that the claim is filed for that there is suspected fraud in their name.
How Employees Can Take Action
As an employee, if you receive notice of a fraudulent unemployment claim from an employer or a notification of unemployment benefits when you haven’t filed, it is likely due to some form of identity theft. Identity theft can be a very serious issue so it is imperative that you follow these steps:
- DO NOT cash any checks or use any debit cards received
- Contact IDES to notify them of suspected fraud (submit online here OR call 800-814-0513)
- Contact the Illinois Attorney General’s Identity Theft Hotline (call 866-999-5630)
- Contact their Identity Theft provider (i.e. LifeLock, Experian, Identity Guard)
- Place a Credit/Security Freeze on your credit report.
- Contact the Federal Trade Commission for additional information and guidance
The Importance of Unemployment Fraud Awareness
Unemployment fraud is an incredibly serious matter and it deserves the attention of every employer. Failing to be aware of unemployment fraud is a failure to protect your company’s interests and the interests of your employees. For assistance with communicating this information to your employees, contact your HR manager or HR advisor. If you’d like more information on the topic of unemployment fraud or other human resources topics, please contact us at Launchways.
by Jim Taylor | Nov 13, 2020 | Human Resources, Leadership, Outsourcing
Historically, Human Resources departments was seen as an administrative team within an organization that focused on regulatory compliance and payroll. However, in today’s ever-evolving and increasingly people-focused business world, HR has become an integral part of any successful company’s leadership team.
The most successful companies have learned to strategically focus their HR assets in order to make the largest impact within their organization. In this post, we’ll explain just how to do this.
Specifically, we’ll discuss:
- Big Picture HR Strategies vs. Tactical HR Elements
- Keeping Your Internal HR Assets Focused on Big Picture Strategies
- Outsourcing Your Tactical HR Elements
- Choosing an Outsourced HR Partner
Big Picture HR Strategies vs. Tactical HR Elements
We’ll frame our recommendations in this post under two main categories: 1) Big Picture HR Strategies and 2) Tactical HR Elements.
Big picture HR strategies are the items that you hope to improve over time. Examples include company culture, talent acquisition, employee development, employee diversity, employee satisfaction, and employee retention.
Tactical HR elements are the day-to-day or week-to-week processes that must be carried out for standard HR operations. Examples include processing payroll, administering benefits, and storing employee data.
Keeping Your Internal HR Assets Focused on Big Picture HR Strategies
Successful companies generally keep their internal HR assets focused on big picture HR strategies. This means that HR leadership and supporting staff focus their day-to-day efforts on improving company culture, recruiting top talent, developing strategies to improve employee diversity, and other high-return areas.
These are the tasks that will lead to greater success for your company in the long run. Ultimately, HR is all about people. Where would your company be without the people who keep it running? While the tactical HR elements like payroll and benefits administration are critically important too, the work involved with their administration is much more technical and involves little to do with strategic human capital management.
For this reason, your internal HR assets should focus on those bigger picture HR strategies that will significantly impact the people who work for your business moving forward.
When you are looking to hire new HR team members, be sure you keep these considerations in mind. You might have a candidate who is an expert in administering payroll and benefits, but make sure the candidate can also think strategically about big picture HR efforts before you hire them. The ability to contribute to the big picture HR efforts will be much more valuable for your business in the long run.
Outsourcing Your Tactical HR Elements
Tactical HR elements such as payroll processing, benefits administration, and storing employee data are not overtly challenging – but implementing and managing systems to carry out those tasks does take time and resources.
Outsourced HR partners already have these systems in place, and they have mastered the use of these systems as they have implemented them with hundreds of businesses just like yours. If you choose a partner that is a great fit for your business, they should be able to get the systems up and running for you with a short onboarding timeline.
Although there are costs associated with hiring outsourced HR partners, it also saves you time and money by eliminating the need for you or your staff to implement and manage tactical HR systems.
The other significant benefit of working with an outsourced HR partner is that it can greatly reduce HR risk. By having an expert third party manage key HR processes on your behalf, you can greatly reduce the odds of making costly mistakes associated with violating HR laws or payroll processes. As a business owner, the last thing you want to deal with is a fine imposed by a local government agency or disgruntled employees with late paychecks.
Choosing an Outsourced HR Partner
Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you are researching different HR outsourcing solutions:
- What will be the costs of working with this partner, both in the short term and the long term?
- Does this partner have the technological capacity to grow as my business grows? In other words, can this partner adapt to fit my needs as my company expands to include more staff and potentially additional geographic locations?
- Does the partner provide adequate training to my staff so that we can use their platforms or systems to the fullest extent possible?
- Does this partner meet all legal compliance requirements, especially related to privacy and security of sensitive employee data?
- Will this partner have the financial stability to ensure they stay in business over the long term?
- Can I depend on this partner to properly address challenges and issues in a time-sensitive manner?
Key Takeaways
In the realm of HR administration, there are both big picture HR strategies as well as tactical HR elements.
Big picture HR strategies include things like improving company culture, acquiring new talent, employee retention, improving diversity efforts, and developing employees.
Tactical HR elements include things like processing payroll, benefits administration, and storing employee data.
Savvy business owners will understand the advantages to keeping internal HR assets focused on big picture HR strategies while outsourcing tactical HR elements. Some of these advantages include:
- Increased efficiency of employee time and resources.
- Reduced risk of litigation and fines for employers.
- Increased focus on the big picture aspects of your business that will lead to greater success over time.
Finally, if you do decide to work with an outsourced HR partner, be sure to do your due diligence so that you pick the best fit for your business’s unique needs.
by Carolyn Kick | Nov 6, 2020 | Compliance, Human Resources
This July, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it would be revising the Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) forms. This would result in significant changes that require additional information in notices and certifications. Although the use of these forms is not required, many employers choose to use the forms as templates for their own internal FMLA processes. Employees, employers, and medical providers fill out sections of these forms in order to process and track FMLA leave.
In this post, we’ll discuss the most important things you need to know about these new FMLA forms:
- Which FMLA forms have been updated
- What changes were made to the Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities
- What changes were made to the Designation Notice
- What changes were made to the Medical Certifications
Which FMLA forms have been updated
Some forms were changes with only minor updates, while others were nearly completely redone. Specifically, these are the forms that were updated recently:
- Form WH-381, the notice of eligibility and rights and responsibilities
- Form WH-382, designation notice
- Form WH-380-E, medical certification of an employee’s serious health condition
- Form WH-380-F, medical certification of a family member’s serious health condition
We’ll discuss more of the specifics of these forms in the following sections.
What changes were made to the Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities
The Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities form (WH-381) was the form that was changed the most.
The previous version of the form was organized using a list of employee responsibilities, which was followed by a list of employee rights. This old format required the employee to refer to both sections back and forth, which led to confusion. Instead of two separate lists, the new form is organized into three topics (with several subtopics) related to an employee’s FMLA leave:
- Notice of Eligibility
- Additional Information Needed
- Notice of Rights and Responsibilities
- FMLA Leave Entitlement
- Substitution of Paid Leave – When Paid Leave is Used at the Same Time as FMLA Leave
- Maintain Health Benefits
- Other Employee Benefits
- Return-to-Work Requirements
- Other Requirements While on FMLA Leave
This format provides a much more natural flow that is in line with the FMLA process, which should reduce employee and employer confusion.
Additional clarity provided by the new WH-381 form includes:
- Adding an option for an employer to explain the effect that FMLA leave has on employee benefits besides health insurance.
- Clarifying whether FMLA leave will run concurrently with workers’ compensation, any applicable disability insurance coverage, or and other leave required by state law.
- Requiring an employer to indicate how many hours are lacking if a worker does not meet the hourly eligibility criterion (1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave).
What changes were made to the Designation Notice
The changes made to the designation notice should positively impact both the employee and the employer. The new Designation Notice (WH-382) requires that employers specify what action an employee should take if their initial FMLA application had incomplete or insufficient information.
This is a positive change for employers because it allows them to better communicate with the employees about the information that is lacking in their FMLA request, which will ultimately help the employer make the correct decision whether to approve or deny FMLA leave.
What changes were made to the Medical Certifications
The changes to the medical certification of an employee’s serious health condition (WH-380-E) and the medical certification of a family member’s serious health condition (WH-380-F) seem to be designed to reduce the need for back and forth communication between the employer and the medical provider. Both forms now ask the medical provider to indicate a “best estimate” of the employee’s or family member’s future treatment. The forms also the medical provider to describe an essential job function that the employee cannot perform due to the injury or illness.
Both of these additions should streamline communication between the employer and the medical provider, which should lead to positive results.
Key Takeaways
Employers will want to review the recent changes that the DOL made to the standard FMLA forms. These forms are a great resource to use as templates for your own internal FMLA processes, as long as they are appropriately understood.
Key changes to the forms include:
- Form WH-381, the notice of eligibility and rights and responsibilities, has been reformatted to better match the regular flow of the FMLA process.
- Form WH-382, designation notice, requires that employers specify what action an employee should take if their initial FMLA application had incomplete or insufficient information.
- Forms WH-380-E and WH-380-F, medical certifications, ask the medical provider for additional information about the condition of the employee in order to reduce the need for back and forth communication with the employer.
Finally, be sure to look over the new forms yourself. In addition to using the links throughout this post, all the new revised FMLA forms can be found here:
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/forms
by Carolyn Kick | Nov 6, 2020 | COVID Healthcare Costs, Employee Benefits
Millennials make up a significant portion of today’s workforce. Understanding millennial personalities, lifestyles, and well-being is key for many employers to successfully continue the operations of their organizations, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent report published by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association highlights several concerning health trends among millennials that employers will want to be acutely aware of. The issues associated with these trends could be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which adds to the importance of understanding and preparing for the bumpy road of millennial health that lies ahead.
In this post, we’ll provide an overview of two of these key trends:
- Rates of behavior health conditions among millennials are increasing.
- Millennials with behavioral health conditions are more likely to have a chronic physical condition.
We’ll also briefly talk about what actions employers can take to address these trends in their workforce.
Rates of Behavior Health Conditions Among Millennials Are Increasing
Unfortunately, behavioral health conditions have been rising among millennials. The list below highlights some of the most pertinent conditions and their corresponding increases over the past five years:
- ADHD – 39% increase
- Tobacco Use Disorder – 10 % increase
- Major Depression – 43% increase
- Substance Use Disorder – 17% increase
- Alcohol Use Disorder – 5% increase
- Psychotic Disorders – 26% increase
This data was gathered before the COVID-19 pandemic. As you can imagine, rates of many of these behavioral health conditions are likely to increase even more due to this pandemic. In the report, 92% of millennials said that COVID-19 has had a negative impact on their mental health overall.
Also noted within the research are more statistics that show the frightening effects the pandemic has already had on millennials, “Because of the pandemic, almost 60% of millennials have canceled a health-related appointment or procedure. In addition, isolation, stress and economic insecurity attributed to the pandemic have had a major impact on millennials. Almost 10% have lost their job due to the pandemic, 25% have seen a reduction in their work hours, and 23% have had to access savings to pay for their day to day needs.”
Millennials With Behavioral Health Conditions Are More Likely to Have a Chronic Physical Condition
An extension of the issue described in the previous section is that millennials with behavioral health conditions are more likely to have a chronic physical condition. Specifically, millennials with behavioral health conditions are:
- 1.9 times more likely to experience hypertension
- 1.7 times more likely to develop high cholesterol
- 1.9 times more likely to have Crohn’s Disease/Ulcerative Colitis
- 2.1 times more likely to have Type II Diabetes
- 2.7 times more likely to have Coronary Artery Disease
Given that nearly one-third of millennials have behavioral health conditions (and rising), employers should anticipate an increased need to address the above physical conditions in the future.
Millennials seem to be aware of these trends as well. When surveyed, 54% of millennials perceive their mental health as good or excellent, compared to 64% of baby boomers. Further, 80% of millennials believe their mental health has an impact on their physical health, compared to 62% of baby boomers. This shows that many millennials are aware of the mental health issues facing their generation as well as the potential physical health issues that follow.
What Can Employers Do?
Many employers will feel discouraged after reading this post. Millennials will face behavioral and physical health challenges in the future, and employers like you want to do your best to help them.
One of the best strategies that is recommended by Launchways is to work with a trusted and experienced benefits broker. Consider the following ways a benefits broker can help you address the trends discussed in this article:
- Guide you as you negotiate with your health service providers to make sure adequate mental and behavioral health services are available for your employees.
- Perform an audit of the demographics of your workforce to determine more specifically how it will be affected by these millennial health trends.
- Implement strategies to incentivize employees to not skip their routine preventative medical services.
Key Takeaways
The topic of this article is very concerning, especially for employers with workforces that are Millennial-dominant.
Key takeaways from this article include:
- Rates of behavioral health conditions have been rising over the last five years.
- Individuals with behavioral health conditions are much more likely to experience chronic physical conditions.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has already had negative effects on the health of Millennials, and unfortunately there will almost certainly be more negative effects moving forward.
Employers should consider working with a trusted benefits broker, like Launchways, to implement strategies to care for the mental and physical health of their Millennial employees.
by Jim Taylor | Nov 6, 2020 | Human Resources
Strategic processes are found in many levels of businesses and other organizations. As a business leader, you likely spend your time in meetings discussing marketing strategy, financial strategy, pricing strategy, hiring strategy, and more. Yet, there is one strategic area of business that is all too often overlooked – HR technology strategy.
In this post I’ll cover actionable strategies for business leaders to align their HR technology with overall organizational strategy. Specifically, I’ll address:
· Aligning HR technology strategy with business goals
· Making your HR technology strategy agile
· Thinking beyond simple automation
Aligning HR Technology Strategy with Business Goals
Fortunately, the timing has never been better for business leaders to establish their HR technology strategy. With the rise of software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, many new and innovative HR technology providers are now in the market. Thanks to the fact that all these services can be hosted in the cloud, implementation can be done very efficiently. Further, customization of these platforms to fit your specific business needs is possible more now than ever before.
Firstly, you should always consult with your own IT staff before determining which HR strategies to implement. Their expertise and feedback will ensure that you don’t choose to implement a technology that exposes sensitive employee data or otherwise compromises the integrity of your HR strategy. However, another advantage of HR technology SaaS platforms is that once the platform is integrated with your organization, IT’s role in managing that system can be minimal. These cloud-based services require minimal intervention from your IT staff once they are all set up. This means your HR team can fully utilize the platform without having to wait for potential delays associated with getting IT involved.
As you are considering your options for HR technology, it’s important to have a clear vision of what your business goals are. When evaluating potential technology vendors, prompt them to show you how the platform can directly help you achieve these goals – especially in terms of improving your HR operations. Due to that fact that there are many exceptional HR technology platforms available nowadays, know that you can shop around until you find a solution that fits your business’ exact needs. One crucial mistake many leaders make is to settle for a platform that doesn’t truly fit the unique needs of their team’s operations.
Another important point to make is that you shouldn’t jump the gun when it comes to HR strategy. Ask yourself, are all members of your leadership team aligned with your company’s HR strategy? Which team members were involved with developing those strategies? Are the strategies based on reliable feedback and data, not just the gut instincts of upper level leadership? Ask yourself these questions in both an HR and a non-HR context.
It’s best to hone in on all these key areas before investing in HR technology to help you achieve your organization’s goals. By having a clear strategy prior to making HR infrastructure changes, you can avoid making a significant investment into an HR technology only to find out that you need to adjust your business strategies in such a way that makes them incompatible with the technology.
Making your HR Technology Strategy Agile
If we’ve learned anything over the past 12 months, it’s that the future in the business world is often unpredictable. No business leaders in November 2019 could have predicted that in November 2020 we’d be in the midst of the worst pandemic that the world has seen in nearly 100 years. The biggest unforeseen change that has resulted from this pandemic is that telecommuting has become the new normal for many employees.
Many HR processes that had in-person steps are now forced to be 100% virtual, such as hiring, I-9 verification, and onboarding. Businesses with agile HR technologies were able to adapt much more easily to these changes than those without.
As you’re considering which HR technologies to implement, envision different future scenarios that your business may face and aim to implement a platform that affords your team the greatest flexibility.
When we talk about HR technology agility, this generally means having it in the cloud and being able to configure or customize the offerings in an efficient manner. When you have licensed software manually installed on your team’s computers, it is generally much more difficult to change or customize at a moment’s notice compared to cloud-based systems. Standardization of SaaS applications can reduce complexity and make upgrades faster.
Thinking Beyond Simple Automation
The final strategy that we’ll discuss in this post is to think beyond simple automation when considering HR technologies. It’s important to remember that technology itself is not the solution to your business’ challenges, but rather a tool that enables your skilled employees to improve processes and systems. Your business has, and always will be, managed by people – also known as “Human Capital” in the HR world. Keep the focus of your HR technologies on managing human capital. Don’t put the creativity or innovation of your employees at risk for the sake of simple automation.
Key Takeaways
Employers will always invest significant time into developing organizational strategies. At Launchways, we often see employers neglect important aspects of their HR technology strategies. To ensure that HR technology strategy aligns with overall business strategy, we recommend the following:
· Strongly consider implementing software-as-a-service (SaaS) HR technology platforms. There are many modern, effective options to choose from, and if you invest sufficient time into considering your options, you should be able to find a platform that will perfectly match your organizational needs and culture.
· In addition to focusing on SaaS platforms, focus on making your HR technology agile. We often don’t know what lies ahead in the business world, but you should feel comfortable knowing that your HR technologies can easily adapt to changing workforces and workplaces.
· Most importantly, remember the value of human capital. The mindset of implementing new HR technologies should be to maximize the value of your human capital, not just to automate processes.
