With all the constant, fast-breaking news pertaining to COVID-19, you may not have heard that yesterday, President Trump signed the “phase two” stimulus legislation. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provides paid leave for certain workers, enhances unemployment insurance, and ensures free testing for infection by the Coronavirus. Unemployment eligibility requirements have been eased by waiving the work search requirements as well as the waiting week before benefits can be claimed. This measure also helps take care of small businesses (those with fewer than 500 employees) by providing reimbursement through tax credits for offering the qualified paid leaves.

Following his a very high overview of the paid leave benefits. For additional, detailed information, we encourage you to refer to the H.R. 6201 Act passed by Congress.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final ruling today for overtime pay when employees work more than 40 hours in a week. Employees who make less than $35,568 will be eligible for overtime effective January 1, 2020. This is expected to affect approximately 1.3 million American workers.

“At-Will” Employment State

Oregon, along with most of the U.S. (with the exception of Montana), is an at-will employment state. At-will employment means employers can terminate employees at any time without reason, explanation, or warning (except for wrongful termination reasons, like race, religion, and disability). It also means an employee can quit at any time for any reason...or no reason at all. Typical exceptions to this include the following: Employment Contracts, Implied Contracts, Good Faith and Fair Dealing (i.e. employers terminating employees to avoid their duties like paying for healthcare, retirement, or commission-based work), and Public Policy.

People quickly and understandably become very confused when it comes to reviewing Workers' Compensation policies and rates from insurance carriers. At its most basic, the following formula is used to calculate Workers' Compensation premiums:

Payroll (per $100) X Class Code Rate X Experience Modifier (MOD) + State Fees/Surcharges = Premium

Let’s break down each of these elements and explain where the amounts come from.

If you are one of the few, select individuals who loves addressing and managing Workers' Compensation issues, then any HR department would be lucky to have you. It probably means you're extremely organized, exceptionally patient, and incredibly resourceful. You probably have the tact of an international diplomat and the steel-trap memory of an elephant.

For all the rest of us less naturally inclined towards this topic...well...we need some extra help.

In what year did Congress pass the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), which is believed by many to be the start of the path to Workers’ Compensation?

A. 1959
B. 1970
C. 1908
D. 1942

It’s that time of year when the impact of the recent Oregon Legislation Session is starting to be realized by employers. Several new laws (and at least one that previously was implemented) are, or will be, affecting employers and employees. Following is a summary of just some of the changes on the horizon.

Our knowledge is your knowledge! That is the common expectation in the HR world, right? It's all about sharing resources, training, updates, and knowledge with employees, clients, and even other human resource professionals in our network. We do it because everyone in this role knows what a constant challenge it can be to keep up with changing legislation, benefit offerings, trends, policies, and compliance requirements. You can never have too many tools in your toolbox of HR information.

Two reporting deadlines are quickly approaching. All employers with 100 or more employees, or federal government contractors and first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and at least $50,000 in contracts, must file the EEO-1 survey with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The purpose of EEO-1 reporting is to identify areas of discrimination in the workplace. Here is what you need to know.

• Can and should we screen social media accounts as part of the hiring process?
• We have good reason to believe an employee has been stealing from the register. What should we do?
• How do we keep an employee at-will but require them to give notice before leaving?
• Can we ask an applicant why they are leaving their current job?

Where do you turn for answers to these and other HR questions? Google? Colleagues? A coin flip?

Businesses spend an average of 25 hours per month trying to understand and resolve HR issues, and in too many cases much of that time is spent guessing or following poor advice. There's a better way to get reliable information faster, and we're inviting you to see how it works.