Dear HR, I have an employee that I am pretty sure that has been experiencing bullying at my workplace for the last 4 months. Some of the behavior comes from co-workers, and some of it comes from one of my shift supervisors. Can you help me understand what kind of work behavior is defined as bullying? HR Answer. Most American workers used to characterize workplace bullying as “I have a bad boss – my boss […]
New Business Tax? You might remember Measure 97, a gross receipts tax that Oregon voters overwhelming turned down in 2016? This gross receipts would have been levied on the business’s sales regardless if companies make a profit. The Oregon Legislature is going back to the idea of a gross receipts tax to plug our upcoming budget deficit. There are several routes the Legislature may go: a restructured gross receipts tax; a business activity tax—which is […]
Dear HR, One of our long-time employees is now on Medicare and our business would like to pay for the Medicare premiums. What is the best way for us to pay/reimburse our employee for the premiums without causing them to incur tax consequences? HR Answer, Employers can pay Medicare premiums for active employees if the company’s payment plan is integrated with the group’s health plan. For example, the linked group plan must provide minimum value by […]
Cardinal Services Now Offers a QSEHRA Plan Oregon employers now have another option to assist employees in paying for health coverage and other medical expenses. This new coverage option is called a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement. The catchy acronym, QSEHRA, is sometimes pronounced by saying the letter Q followed up with the name Sarah. While the original plan was rolled out at the national level in 2016, it took Oregon some time to […]
Dear HR, One of my employees just informed me they received a summons to jury duty next month. Since this is a critical time for us, as seasonal business, may I ask my employee to defer jury duty? HR Answer: A person may be excused from, or defer jury duty on the basis of an undue hardship or extreme inconvenience to the person, the person’s family, the person’s employer or even the public served by […]
Dear HR, We just had our first jury duty situation come up for one of our employees. My employee is paid hourly and works during the day, so, jury duty would occur during her shift. Am I required to pay her? May I count this as PTO, Vacation or Sick leave? Please help! HR Answer: Both Federal and State wage and hour laws require all hourly and non-exempt employees be paid for all hours worked. […]
Dear HR, One of my employees was selected for service on a trial which may potentially last several months. Am I required to continue the employee’s health care insurance? HR Answer: In Oregon, there is a small-employer exemption, and the requirements do not apply for employers with nine or fewer employees. The continuation the employee’s health, disability, life or other insurance coverage would be up to a small employer’s benefits policy to define when and […]
Nothing is more frustrating to employers, supervisors, HR managers and staff than when an employee fails to show up to work! The immediate effects are obvious – it impacts the day’s work flow, burdens co-workers, puts extra work on the supervisor to determine cause and always, always affects the bottom line of an employer’s profits. It is easy to cast blame on the employee for not notifying the employer. For many companies, failure to “call […]
Who’s doing “good works” in Douglas County? United Community Action Network aka UCAN, located in Roseburg, Oregon is one of the largest social service providers in Douglas County, and we have now expanded into Josephine County, Oregon. The organization’s mission is to stabilize people’s lives by helping them address their basic life needs to exit poverty. Our services include community-wide coordination of social services, food bank operations, emergency services, family development assistance, housing, healthcare, managing […]
Dear HR, I have an employee that wants to take a sick day for a previous pay period that we have already paid them for. She forgot to turn in her request in time to get it on her last paycheck. So, I have a few questions about this situation in particular, and for future reference if this comes up again. Is it possible to pay sick time after a pay period has passed? If […]