Yearly Archives: 2021

Establishing Employee Etiquette for Virtual Meetings

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Setting up a conduct policy can prevent embarrassing mishaps  In March of 2020, many employees began working from home. Businesses have had to rely on virtual meetings for both staff and customers by using Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WebEx, Skype, or other video communication platforms.  On the upside for workers, these meetings from home have become a casual dress day—which on the surface, seems like a good thing. Employees have traded their standard office attire for […]

Paycheck Protection Program Revised to Serve Small Employers with Fewer than 20 Employees

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Small Business Administration’s opens up the application process on Wednesday, February 24  Effective on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, at 9 am EST, the Small Business Administration [SBA] will open up a special, 14-day Paycheck Protection Program [PPP] loan application period, reserved exclusively for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees.   This new loan option gives lenders and community partners more time to work with the smallest businesses on application submission, while still ensuring that larger […]

Employee Benefit Trends for 2021

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Good news, not all trends are pandemic related!  Many of the 2021 employee benefit trends are related to employee issues that have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as accommodating employees working remotely and keeping employees healthy and productive during these challenging times.  While some of these benefit trends will fade when the pandemic does, others may become the “new normal” in employee benefit programs.   According to a 2019 Employee Benefits Survey administered by […]

IRS Lowers Standard Mileage Rate for 2021

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The business mileage rate will be $0.56 cents per mile   For 2021, standard mileage rates for the use of cars, vans, pickups, or panel trucks will be:   $0.56 cents per mile driven for business use, down from $0.575 cents in 2020.  $0.16 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from $0.17 cents in 2020.  $0.14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations, which remains unchanged.  While the standard mileage rates […]

EMPLOYERS MAY REQUIRE WORKERS TO RECEIVE THE COVID-19 VACCINE

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As vaccines become available, workplace vaccination requirements may expand.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released guidance under federal law that makes it clear that employers may require workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine – with limited exceptions. This is also true under Oregon law.     Employers may require employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination before returning to a worksite if the absence of a vaccination constitutes a direct threat to other employees in the […]

HR Highlights within the Coronavirus Relief Package

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Within the bill to fund the government and provide continued economic relief in response to the pandemic, there are expansions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and an extension of the refundable employer payroll tax credit for paid sick and family leave through March 31st 2021.   Here are the highlights of what employers need to know … 

Your employees’ data just got safer.

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IRS New Rule: OK to hide SSN/TIN Numbers on W2s   The IRS has approved a rule that allows Social Security [SSN] and Taxpayer Identification [TIN] numbers to be “masked” or truncated on W2s issued after December 31, 2020. The SSNs and TINs can now be printed on W2s with the first five numbers represented as “X” or “*” to conceal the actual numbers.   Example might read: XXX-XX-0000 or ***-**- 0000.  What this means for employees: […]