Impending Mandate – Paid Sick Leave On June 12th, the Oregon House passed state bill SB 454, a requirement that all employers in Oregon, with few exceptions, provide sick leave to their employees. Earlier in the week, the Oregon Senate had approved the bill. It seems virtually certain that Governor Brown will sign this bill into law. Assuming SB 454 becomes law, it will go into effect on January 1, 2016. Oregon would be […]
One question employers are asking us is about any changes to the minimum wage. Unless you have purposely not been paying attention to the news and stopped reading the newspaper you have probably heard some reference to an increase in the Oregon rate to a $15 minimum wage. There are several bills on this matter in the Oregon legislature. In Cardinal’s last Legislative Update we reviewed three bills. They were: House Bill 2008 – […]
Recently the IRS released guidance on the practice of employers giving employees health insurance reimbursements for premiums. It is not surprising that the IRS ruled that pre-tax programs are no longer allowed. What was surprising is that employers cannot reimburse employees for health insurance premiums with post-tax dollars. Post tax dollars means exactly that, the IRS has already gotten its share of taxes. Why would the IRS care where money is spent after it […]
The Oregon Legislative has only been in session for a few months and already there has been quite a bit of activity in the labor law category. Let’s begin by reviewing the widely anticipated bills such as Paid Sick Leave and an increased Minimum Wage, which likely will end up on the Governor’s desk, then move on to the unexpected in this legislative update.
This year the Employer Mandate went into effect. The Employer Mandate is a $2,000 tax per employee per year on large employers that do not provide a group health plan. In 2015 a large employer is one that has 100 or more employees – get help calculating your employee count– and in 2016 that number drops to 50 employees.
Just because you are paying an employee a salary does not make that employee ineligible for overtime. It is important to correctly distinguish whether the employee is exempt vs non exempt from wage regulations that cover overtime. The employer’s method of payment such as hourly, salary, or commission, is only one element of the exempt classification. What are FLSA regulations? The Fair Labor Standards Act, or the FLSA, established federal minimum wage and federal […]
Sure everyone thinks about New Years Resolutions but what about your Business New Years Resolutions? Here’s a checklist to get you thinking about how to better tone up your company this year: Get a HR checkup – This is a proactive approach to ensure the legal compliance and effectiveness of your entire HR program before a crisis happens. Ask our HR experts for a consultation! Review and update Employee Handbook – We recommend this be […]
‘Tis the season for Holiday Parties You want to get your employees together for a bit of holiday fun — but how can you share some holiday cheer without opening yourself up to potential liabilities. The Do’s and Don’ts for successful & safe company parties: DO – Set a tone of moderation before holiday parties through interoffice memos or meetings, reminding employees to be responsible. DON’T – Require employees to attend as a condition of […]
Cardinal sent out an email alert on November 7, 2014 regarding Oregon Ballot Initiate 91, which decriminalized recreational marijuana. In the alert, we advised reviewing your DRUG TESTING policies and following some suggested best practices. This article focuses on best practices surrounding post-incident drug testing. Before we delve too deep, let us review what usually happens. Often an employee reports that they have been injured and files a workers’ compensation claim. That triggers paperwork, an […]
Ballot Measure 91 Passed. Now What? On November 4, 2014, Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 91, legalizing the non-medical possession and use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older. The law goes into effect July 1, 2015. See Oregon: Recreational Marijuana FAQ
