Coordinating Human Resources wasn't in your job description when you were interviewed and hired at this little company of 47 employees. But you're a fast study and have a friendly personality, and so after six months at work you were asked to show a new hire around. Afterwards you thought, "There should probably be an orientation and initial paperwork process for when new people are hired," and so you took the initiative and created one. The benefits enrollment process interested you, and so you became the main contact with the broker. One day, somebody asked if the minimum wage poster in the break room was current. It wasn't, so you retrieved the latest version from the Department of Labor website and started checking and replacing the other notices from time to time. HR tasks didn't take up too much of your time, and it was kind of fun keeping on top of things.

Then a pandemic hit.

A couple years ago, Gallup conducted a survey that categorized employee engagement into three levels. The results showed that, in any given organization, 30% of employees are actively engaged in propelling the company along, half of the employees are just coasting on the efforts of the others, and 20% are actively attempting to disrupt progress within the business. Do you know which of your employees fall into which categories? More importantly, do you know how to improve these conditions?

Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are asking questions like how and when is it safe to re-open their organizations. Meanwhile, local governments are working through very confusing phases of re-opening regulations. And as if that's not enough to think about, OSHA updated the rules for employer obligations of reporting COVID-19 as a workplace illness. Lions, and tigers, and bears, OH MY! Could this be anymore overwhelming? In this post, we will attempt to help make sense of some of the latest updates, and we're also offering a free webinar on COVID-19 workplace safety as well as a policy template so that you have two valuable resources to assist your progress in these safety-related tasks.

As employees begin returning to the workplace from an extended period of home isolation, it is quite possible that we'll see a short-term bump in accidents and Workers' Compensation claims. It's going to take some time to restore old routines and form new ones in the offices, warehouses, and work spaces that have been quiet over the past few months. Mistakes are going to happen, and some of those mistakes are going to cause accidents that result in Workers' Compensation cases. How much time will you waste juggling all the different tools you use to manage those cases? With an integrated Human Capital Management solution like People Savvy HCM, the answer might be, "Not much."

With everything that has happened this year, does anyone else feel like we are in some strange time warp? Anyone know what month it is? Oh that is right, it's June. Crazy to think that we are halfway through 2020 already! So July is just next month, and it brings with it some important deadlines and potential changes for payroll and accounting departments. Here are some critical dates in July that you don't want to lose track of.

Many counties are working through the required phases to get people back to work, and that leaves employers trying to figure out how to safely return to the new normal. Employee safety is generally a number one priority for employers. As businesses face post-COVID-19 reopening, following are some key factors to consider:

Join us for our Bennett/Porter IT and Hosted Services free webinar series! We’ll focus on services and features that will enhance your work productivity, prepare you for the unexpected, and ensure your data is protected. With many employees working remote, businesses have had to change the way important company data is managed. This series will cover common scenarios and what you can do to ensure every base is covered.

On May 16, 2019, House Bill 3427 was signed into law creating the Corporate Activity Tax (CAT). This new tax doesn’t replace the corporate income tax. It is in addition to that longstanding tax. The CAT became effective January 1, 2020, and it applies to all types of businesses with Oregon commercial activity that generate revenue in excess of $1 million (although businesses with $750,000+ in revenue are required to register with the Department of Revenue). Very few businesses are exempt from the CAT (e.g. nonprofit organizations, farmers, school districts, hospitals, long-term care facilities). This gross receipts tax is expected to raise at least $1 billion in annual revenues, intended to fund state investments in education.

** This article was originally sent to our Bennett/Porter clients via email on 4/17/2020 **

It's Friday, and the end of another fast-changing week for businesses and their employees. To help you keep up with and respond to events that impact your business, we've put together some helpful notes and notifications.

CAT Tax Webinar

Figuring out how much you owe to the State of Oregon for the new Corporate Activity Tax is not straightforward. And every company who has revenue of more than $1,000,000 per year is required to make estimated tax payments for the new tax that Governor Brown mandated last summer. 

More help brings more questions and new confusion. On March 27, 2020, Congress passed a second round of economic stimulus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Some of the relief elements contained within this latest act include:

• Paycheck Protection Program Loans
• Additional Unemployment Benefits
• Student Loan Payments Suspension
• Funding for Hospitals, Airlines/Airports, and Food Assistance Programs
• Government Checks to Individuals
• Small Business Debt Relief
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans & Emergency Economic Injury Grants

Here is a closer look at some key aspects.