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 …
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: […]
Cardinal Services will keep you informed on the various laws and regulations due to expire on December 31st, 2020. We anticipate last-minute changes, extensions, or cancellations of several COVID-19 related emergency laws and regulations previously enacted by Congress and state legislatures on these and other regulations: Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Dependent on Congress extending this emergency law, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) paid leave requirements will expire on December 31st of this year. FFCRA requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and […]
TELEWORKING During this challenging time, employees are now being asked to work from home. Here’s a list of tips that can help both employers and employees be more productive when working remotely. TIPS FOR SUPERVISORS WHO MANAGE REMOTE WORKERS Profiles of successful employees who work remotely have the following attributes: are proactive and self-initiating by nature, are project-driven and comfortable working alone- but know how to communicate regularly to a supervisor or team. Remote employees […]
Here Are the Latest Updates. Update as of November 12 – Please note that in the draft rules OSHA set, the due date to get your updated COVID-19 plan in place was by November 21st. That deadline has been pushed back to December 21st. Update as of November 6th – Oregon OSHA has published documents related to these new rules. Click here for the published documents.https://osha.oregon.gov/rules/advisory/infectiousdisease/Pages/default.aspx Note they also have a link to a new […]
After a reasonably quiet summer, Cardinal has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 related issues. Among them, are concerns that employees are contracting the virus outside of the workplace, or have been in contact with positive COVID-19 cases. This has resulted in concerns from co-workers about how, and when these employees can return to work. Consequently, we have also seen a sudden increase in the amount of emergency paid sick leave requests. It appears this […]
Tips on keeping employees’ conversations on controversial topics civil As employees return to the workplace, there may be heated discussions among co-workers concerning the upcoming elections, current events, or the pandemic. Due to this, arguments and outright hostilities may erupt. If tempers flare during these heated discussions, supervisors will need to know how to handle the situation. To reduce the potential for heated discussions, it is essential to have a policy in place regarding political […]
Labor Laws are now addressing specific reimbursement policies for remote workers During the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, at least 45 states and numerous local governments adopted shelter-in-place orders that required people to remain at home, except for when providing essential services. This caused an unprecedented number of employees to work remotely—a necessary arrangement that allowed their employers to continue operating. The costs of working remotely have now generated new types of employee expenses. When […]
Dear HR, We are beginning to integrate employees returning to the workplace as COVID-19 restrictions are eased. We have made an exception for one employee with a disability, who will continue to work remotely. A few of our employees have voiced their displeasure with this arrangement. They think it is unfair for them to return to onsite work while one of their other co-workers continues with remote work. Without disclosing personal health information, how can […]
Get ready to have new policies in place and answer employee questions Your employees may have many questions and concerns after returning to work. It is your job, as the employer, to address these questions and concerns regarding employees’ health and safety as we face COVID-19. Below is a probable list of questions employees may ask as you reopen your business.