For many small businesses, the HR department is a thinly stretched team of one. Sure, the team discussions can get a bit one sided, but that is far from the only challenge that the solo HR professional faces on a regular basis. Understaffing issues caused by anything from turnover issues to stacked employee vacations can make an overwhelming job feel like an impossible one.

Around this time each year, we report on all the promised and potential new changes and updates to payroll requirements. 2023 is no exception, and it's quickly approaching. We compiled the following extensive list of items that may result in some payroll changes for your organization. We understand that this is a very long list to review, but we hope that the annual update provides a valuable reference guide for your organization. You might start thinking about these so that you can act sooner than later.

There probably isn’t a person anywhere who can say the coronavirus pandemic has not in some way affected them. I think we are all a little - or, more realistically, a lot - tired of it. While we might wish we could bury our heads under our pillows and not come out until it’s over, employers and HR professionals alike know that this is not a realistic response. We must continue to keep up with all the latest news and required enforcements and to make decisions that will keep our employees, their families, our customers, and businesses as safe as possible. To help, we've compiled the following updates. Hopefully, some of the resources below will help make everyone's work life a little easier as we get through this together.

Did you survive year end and getting all those W2s into the waiting hands of your employees? If you answered "Yes!", then a big CONGRATULATIONS to you...and welcome to 2022! We have all hit the ground running and, believe it or not, we are well into February already. With April right around the corner, we thought now would be a good time to remind everyone about two new taxes that went into effect in Oregon and could require filing.

On March 11, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was passed and signed into law by President Biden. There are several provisions in the law that could have an impact on employers and specifically on their employees' payrolls.

Earlier this week, we announced a change in our February HR webinar topic, which will now address the high-demand subject of COVID-19 Vaccinations and Your Workplace. If you or someone you know may benefit from current and critical information relating to the current legality of workplace vaccination mandates, ways to encourage rather than require vaccinations, employees’ rights to speak out against your policies, and much more, we invite you to attend our webinar.

Okay! It is time to mix things up a little in your day. Grab your cup of coffee, tea, water, or beverage of choice, and let’s play a game. This game is designed to test your knowledge of employee classification. It will only take a few minutes, and hopefully you will even learn a thing or two along the way. At the very least, it will be a good refresher.

In March of 2020, working from home became the new normal for many people. Organizations may not have been prepared for this new normal, but ready or not, the transition needed to be made. Some employers went with the Band-Aid approach of doing what they needed to do to get by temporarily, while others fully embraced the challenge and sought the potential long-term advantages that it offered to employer and employees alike. Most employers did not expect this new normal to last as long as it has, or for it to bring so many unforeseen challenges.

In our recent post addressing the need for and benefits of an employee handbook, we mentioned the importance of having employees sign off on having received and read an organization's employee handbook. This is a vital step in creating and distributing a handbook because it encourages employees to read the document, ask questions about its contents, and signal that they understand the information provided. We also noted that sign-off should occur when each new edition of the handbook is given out.

Are all employers required to have an employee handbook? If you answered "no" to this question, you are technically correct. There are no federal or state laws that specifically require companies to create and maintain employee handbooks. HOWEVER, we strongly suggest doing so since, regardless of your company's size, having an employee handbook is a good business practice. There are many laws requiring employers to notify employees of workplace rights (e.g. EEO, sexual harassment, ADA, FMLA), and this document can help with that. In fact, a well-crafted employee handbook helps protect both employer and employees. Following are five specific reasons why having a handbook might be a good idea for your organization.