HR News

2015 Health Insurance Rates Released

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Oregon Health Insurance Exchange on

A recent headline reads, “Average health insurance rates lower in 2015.” In aggregate this is great news for all Oregonians that utilize the health insurance exchange, CoverOregon.  One year is not a trend but after years of double digit increases Oregon businesses would welcome rates stabilizing like workers’ compensation did in the 1990s. Oregon is still benefiting from those changes. A closer examination of the approved rates shows some insurers with increases but others with […]

ACA Strategies

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

If you have 100 Full Time employees and Full Time Equivalents in 2015 or 50 Full Time employees and Full Time Equivalents in 2016 you will be subject to the $2000 tax/penalty under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if you do not provide health insurance.  Often the option to pay a tax or provide health insurance is framed as two options-pay or play.  Either you pay the $2000 tax or provide health insurance to your […]

Paying Salary; Does it Add Up?

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Wage & Hour on

Paying an employee salary instead of hourly is just easier, right?! No more dealing with figuring and paying overtime and turning in time cards. Actually, legally some employees that you may want to pay salary may still be entitled to overtime pay and unpaid meal breaks. Interested in paying your employee salary In order to stay compliant by classifying employees correctly, first you’ll need to determine if the employee is exempt or non-exempt. Exempt simply […]

Curbing Driving Liabilities

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged DMV Check & Flag on

If an employee is driving a company vehicle, there are additional vehicle liability risks the you should be aware of. This includes, but is not limited to, vehicle insurance coverage. If an employee is driving any company vehicle we advise you to check with your insurer to review coverage details. We have two great tools Cardinal provides to help curb driving liabilities: DMV Check Cardinal reviews a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Drivers Record Printout […]

Travel Time: Paid vs. Unpaid

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Travel Time on

Think of all the driving that your employee may do in a day. Driving to work, running errands, jobs or maybe training attended out of town, … Which in all these situations are employers required to pay as travel time?! There are 4 different categories of travel time: Portal-to-portal Travel between work sites Special one-day assignments Overnight travel Portal-to-Portal Travel Portal-to-portal travel consists of an employee´s normal home-to-work and work-to-home travel at the beginning and […]

Who Is Scanning Your Email?

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Information Security on

Google and Yahoo have recently admitted that they scan user’s email to make their advertising more relevant. Google points out that “no humans read your email” but it is not clear what limits there are on these companies’ ability to use the information they receive by scanning your email. Their terms of use agreements provide some direction but appear to offer wiggle room on what can be done with your content in their system.  It […]

Quirky Work Time

This entry was posted in HR News and tagged Wage & Hour on

It seems like it would be straight forward but in the real-world of employment there are some quirky circumstances! It can be confusing and you may end up unsure if you need to pay an employee or not. Learn the rules behind what the law considers Paid Time. Working Time Under federal and state rules, ‘hours worked’ includes both time worked and time of authorized attendance. This means that you must pay for anytime an […]

Wellness and the Affordable Care Act

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

There are plenty of conversations about the rise in health insurance rates.  Politicians on both sides debate the merits of the ACA and its role, or lack of a role, in shaping the direction of health care costs.  Health care providers, insurance companies and malpractice attorneys are just a few of those taking some or all of the blame for rising rates. One area that deserves more attention but is over looked is the consumer.  […]

2014 Legal Update – Part 2

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

At the Federal level there are two big items related to labor law. The first is in regards to a Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The court ruled that benefits must be extended to same sex couples if the state they reside in recognizes same sex marriages.  What is unclear is how that applies in states that do not recognize same sex marriages.  Even more unclear is if a same […]

Employer Bootcamp | Today’s Workplace

This entry was posted in HR News on

Learn the unwritten rules that face today’s employers. How have Technology and Demographics changed the workforce? How can employers benefit from this knowledge? This workshop will look at generational comparison and common threads to help business owners understand people today. it will also consider technology and its role in the workplace, its effect on workers, and how the employer can benefit. It will also provide an  over view of management trends. This Employer Bootcamp originally […]