HR News

Looking for an Alternative to a Group Health Plan?

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance on

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 […]

How Employers Can Reduce “No Call – No Show” Incidents

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Employee Handbook on

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 […]

NEW Oregon W-4 form

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Oregon’s Department of Revenue has released the Oregon Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, Form OR-W-4, for employers to provide to their employees anytime Federal Form W-4 is provided. 2019 Oregon W-4 2019 Federal W-4 Effective January 1, 2019 employees will complete both the federal Form W-4, and the new Oregon Form OR-W-4 to ensure adequate allowances are claimed for federal and state purposes. Existing employees will NOT be required to complete the new form, unless they […]

What Employers Need to Know about Veterans Day

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Veterans Day is Sunday, November 11th –   Request for Veterans Day Off: Employees who are veterans (as defined by Oregon law) and are scheduled to work on Veterans Day, may ask for that day off. These employees must provide 21 days’ prior notice of their intent to take that day off by October 21, 2018, and document their status as a qualifying veteran.   Request Consideration Upon receipt of this request, an employer must […]

Ask HR: Transitioning from Hourly to Salary.

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Exempt or NonExempt on

Dear HR, I am trying to move an employee from hourly to salary pay but unsure how to make that transition. Is it possible to pay them a salary if they work under 50 hours a week, and hourly if they work over 50 hours a week?   HR Answer: This is a complex question and has many exceptions to your desired request! Paying an employee a “salary” does not necessarily mean they are exempt […]

What is Co-Employment?

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Co-Employment on

What is Co-Employment? Co-Employment is simply dividing up responsibility between the onsite employer and a professional employment services provider like Cardinal. As your “co-employer,” we pay the employee taxes and process employee paychecks which include tracking PTO, sick leave, and other information to keep you compliant with labor regulations.   But if I co-employ with you, am I still the boss? Am I still the one making decisions about my employees? According to employment law, […]

Get a handle on high-employee turnover.

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Besides the obvious factors … low pay, or that the work you offer may be “undesirable” (cleaning sewers), let’s look at what current statistics and surveys tell us.  Employee retention is a complex topic but the complaints are startling in that they have stayed the same for the last 20 years!   According to Forbes and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Labor, the top 10 reasons employees leave are The company does NOT view employees […]

Ask HR: Payroll Advance vs. Employee Loan

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Dear HR, I have several employees that always seem to be short of funds a week before payday and have asked me for a payroll advance. Also, I recently had a long-time employee ask for a loan – with the idea that he can make monthly payments back to me by having my bookkeeper deduct a monthly pay back payment. What are the rules for draws and employee loans?  Are there any issues I might […]

NEW Transit Tax Arriving July 1st

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On July 1, 2018 all Oregon employers must start withholding the new statewide “Transit Tax” from each employee’s paycheck. Revenue from the statewide transit tax will go into the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund to finance investments and improvements in public transportation services, except for those involving light rail.   Who exactly will be taxed? • Oregon residents—regardless of where their work is performed. • Non-residents who perform services in Oregon.   Who will NOT be […]

Federal Government Requirements for New Employees

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Are you confused by the various procedures required to confirm the legal status of your new employees? Are you overwhelmed by the new hire paperwork that is required when hiring a new employee? Do you know which newly-hired employees are required to complete the Federal I-9 form? Do you know who in your company is completing and reviewing all the forms for your new hires? Are they trained to fill out an I-9 form correctly […]