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Things Are Changing…..Are
You Ready?
Welcome to 2020. As a business person, I am sure that you are
looking forward to a wonderful and prosperous year. As is always
the case, nothing remains the same for very long. Both federal
and state governments have been very busy over the last several
months enacting significant changes to a wide variety of laws
and regulations which will have a large impact on all businesses.
Please review the list below and let me know if you need any
additional information or if you have any questions.
- At the top of my list are the new changes to the overtime
regulations. On January 1, 2020 new regulations went into effect
which significantly change who is and who is not eligible to
be paid overtime. According to estimates from the U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL), 1.3 million workers will be changed from not
being eligible to be paid overtime to a status of being required
to be paid overtime whenever the individual works more than 40
hours within a one week period of time.
- Upon employment, all newly
hired employees must fill out a standard W-4 form. The 2020
W-4 form has been revised….significantly.
All employees who are hired after January 1, 2020 must fill
out the new form.
- Over the past year, the President Trump appointed
members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which
has interpretive control over the National Labor Relations
Act (NLRA), have been very busy rolling back and reversing
significant decisions of the prior NLRB. This is good news
for employers.
- Many employers
routinely and wrongly designate employees as Independent Contractors.
Both the IRS and the DOL have established “tests” to
help employers determine who is and who is not an Independent
Contractor. It is very important for employers to get this
designation right.
- There is a growing trend among many state and local legislatures
to pass laws which forbid employers from asking applicants
about the salary they made with prior employers. Check your
state or local laws on this issue.
- "Ban the Box" is another initiative which is
being considered and passed by many state legislatures. Under
this law, it would be illegal for an employer to ask any questions
on applications or initial interviews pertaining to the applicant’s
prior arrest or conviction records.
- Lastly, the rise of legal
Cannabidiol (aka CBD) and its use in the workplace has come
in direct conflict with many generally accepted workplace policies
on drug detection and prevention. Employers should contact
legal experts when faced with this dilemma to insure that they
do not run afoul of state or local statutes.
A company’s best defense against
the potential expense and aggravation related to federal or state
law violations is to proactively review and revise as needed
all Human Resources policies, handbooks, hiring procedures, compensation,
benefits, training programs, communications tools and other functions.
The professionals of PHHR are ready to assist your organization
with this type of training as well as to maintain compliance
with the latest state and federal mandates.
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Paul Hilton is a certified Human Resources Consultant, located in
Columbia, SC.
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