What Happens When You Don’t Pay Employees: Part 1

We have spoken at length about how important payroll is. Why you should pay employees on time, keep records organized, and so on. We haven’t gone into detail about the consequences of an ineffective payroll. Especially when it doesn’t pay employees on time. The consequences can be minor if handled or get to be severe. What are these consequences and how should you handle them? Let’s explore a bit and find out.

Not Paying Employees On Time: Legal Consequences

First, we should clarify what we mean when we say not paying employees on time. This doesn’t only mean their paycheck. It also means any overtime or vacation pay they are due. Everything must be paid on time to avoid consequences. We should also note we are only talking about the legal aspects of not paying employees on time.

If an employee is not paid on time they can file a wage complaint. A wage complaint or wage claim goes through the state employment agency. This can prompt a formal investigation into your company. This is where those proper records come in handy. They will want to see all records about the employee’s wages. You will be held liable for any wages owed to the employee and can face a lawsuit over them. That is when things get expensive. You become liable not only for missing wages but also attorney costs if you lose in court. One attorney commented on such a case he was involved in. The amount due was less than $5,000. By the time they went to court and the employee won, the employer owed them well over $80,000 dollars. This included lost wages, attorney costs, and other fees.

A few things to know about employees filing a wage claim:

1. An employee can not have their employment terminated because of a wage claim.
2. You must continue paying their normal wages while a wage claim is underway.
3. Many employees can file a class action lawsuit over missed wages.  
4. When filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, employee wages must still be paid on time.

Can This Be Avoided?

Outside of paying your employees on time, the only other option is to speak with your employees. If you must delay their payment take time to explain why. Make sure you discuss the following.

• Why their paycheck is being delayed.
• When they will get their compensation.
• What steps you will take to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

There is no guarantee this will prevent them from filing a wage claim. It might, however, be enough to make them hold off on filing one. Make sure you make good on your promises if they do delay filing a wage claim.

Any Other Consequences?

That summarizes the legal aspects of not paying their employees on time. There is also the issue of employee morale and productivity to consider. Which we will talk about further in What Happens When You Don’t Pay Employees: Part 2

If you have concerns about your own payroll, feel free to contact Vision H.R. A Daytona Beach Payroll Company. We can help answer any questions you might have. To make you feel even more secure, we can walk you through the benefits of outsourcing payroll. With a team of experts behind your payroll, you won’t have to worry about employees getting paid on time. We will handle that for you.

Daytona Beach Payroll Solutions

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Helping Employees Remember to Clock In

You would think remembering to clock in so you can get paid would be easy. Speaking of which, let me check and make sure I clocked in. Alright, I’m good there. Sometimes though it’s not always as easy as it sounds. When you wake up before the sun rises and are dragging yourself through the front doors you might slip up. Could be you are wide awake but have a big project you need to get started. You have ideas for creative marketing materials you can create in your head. You walk right by that clock in computer and get straight to work. On the other end you had a long and can’t wait to get out of work and relax. So in your eagerness, you don’t even think about the time clock and head straight for it.

 These things happen. Some employees have it happen more often. Some employees clock in dutifully every day. While it is something difficult to avoid sometimes, it can still be annoying. Payroll administrators typically don’t like having to break their workflow. They found some anomaly in an employee’s time. They have to stop what they are doing and contact the employee. They have to hope the employee responds quickly and knows the right time.

So what can you do to help forgetful employees remember to log in? There are a few methods that you can use.

Send Reminders: Some software, (such as one used by Vision H.R.)* will send automatic reminders to employees. They will either work through email or text message.

Encourage Them To Set Reminders: Many jobs have consistent schedules working 9-5 every weekday. With these types of schedules, it is easy to set a reminder five minutes before their shift. They can do the same for when it is time to clock out.

Place Reminders Near The Time Clock: Having something near the time clock to remind employees to clock in can help. Make sure it is noticeable but friendly. Something that feels threatening or stern can either have negative results.

 If you don’t have an organized timekeeping system implemented in your office, contact Vision H.R. An organized timekeeping system makes it even easier for employees to remember to clock in on time. It also makes keeping track of employee time and payroll easier.

Daytona Beach Employee Management

Vision H.R. Human Resource Management

Wage Garnishment: What You Need To Know

No one really likes having bills. Even if those bills are what let us have a new fishing boat, we don’t like paying them. The fact is that we don’t have much choice in the matter. If we don’t pay our bills they might just take the money automatically. How is this possible? By using something that is known as Wage Garnishment. Wage garnishment is when a debtor can legally require your employer to withhold part of your paycheck. What they withhold is instead sent to the debtor. For this article, we will provide information that pertains to both employees and employers.

Who Can Garnish Wages?: The answer is practically any company you legally owe money to. The only difference is some need a court order. Some can garnish wages without a court order. The simple answer to who needs a court order and who doesn’t is federal typically doesn’t. Other companies typically do. A more detailed list of what can garnish wages without a court order is:

• Child Support
• Alimony
• Back Taxes
• Federal Student Loans

Your wage garnishment cannot exceed 25% of your disposable income or 30 times the federal minimum wage. Which one is used depends on which is less. Disposable income means your total income after deductions such as federal taxes. If you make less than 30 times the federal minimum wage, your wages cannot be garnished. It should be noted the federal minimum wage is different from your state’s minimum wage. To better explain we will do a quick breakdown below.

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The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25.

$7.25 x 30 = $217.50

You work a part-time job making $217 a week or less you can not have your wages garnished.

If you work a job that pays more than $217 a week, you are able to have your wages garnished.

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Additional Information:

Wage Garnishment is based on each job you hold. If you work two jobs, each is garnished separately. Meaning if you make less than $217 at one job but more than $217 at the other, only one job can be garnished. If neither job pays you $217 or more neither job can be garnished.

When you are a tipped employee your tips count as a part of your disposable income. If you make $100 weekly wages and $150 in reported tips, you exceed the $217 limit and can have your wages garnished.

Multiple companies can garnish your wages. But combined they can not exceed 25% of your income.

Can An Employee Be Fired For Wage Garnishment?

In Florida, no employee can be fired for wage garnishment. In every state, it is against the law to terminate employment over one wage garnishment. In some states, it is legal to fire an employee over multiple wage garnishments. Florida law, however, prohibits termination regardless of how many companies have placed a garnishment on your wages.

If you find yourself too busy as an employer to fully understand wage garnishment, consider a little help. Daytona Beach Payroll Company Vision H.R. has years of experience in all forms of payroll. From your basic weekly pay to employee benefits and garnishments. Request a free quote and find out what having an outsourced payroll can do for your company.

Daytona Beach Wage Garnishment

Vision H.R.

2019 Changes to the ACA

2019 Changes to the ACA

The Affordable Care Act has had many Americans divided since being signed into law in 2010. The Affordable Care Act or ACA has plenty of pros and cons to consider. Rather people saw it as a burden or a benefit depended on each individual case. Some love it, some hate it, and a few think it’s a step in the right direction. Those opinions might shift when we enter the 2019 year. Changes made by the Trump administration are altering the ACA individual mandate. Before we go into these changes, we will look at the two mandates that define the Affordable Care Act. These are the Individual Mandate and the Employer Mandate.

The Individual Mandate: The individual mandate as it currently stands states that an individual must have some form of healthcare or pay a penalty. This penalty is known as the individual shared responsibility payment. This penalty or payment is taken out of the tax returns come tax time. If you file taxes with a spouse or have dependants labeled on your taxes, all members must be covered. The penalty will be applied for each uninsured family member marked as a dependant.

The Employer Mandate: The employer mandate dictates that an employer must offer healthcare to its employees if it meets certain criteria. To meet these criteria, the company must have at least 50 full-time employees or full-time equivalents (FTEs). To qualify as a full-time employee they must work at least 30 hours per week. An employee has the option to refuse this healthcare and use a healthcare provider outside of the company. For any employee not offered health care by the employer, the employer will face a tax penalty.

As of 2019, The Individual Mandate will be changed. This will remove the penalty or payment required for not having healthcare. This will not remove the requirement to have health care. It simply removes the penalty for not having it. At the moment only the Individual Mandate is seeing a significant change. While this might have indirect consequences for employers, The Employer Mandate itself is not being changed. This doesn’t mean there are no future plans for the Employer Mandate. So it is important to keep up to date.

Why You Need To Know This: While the Individual Mandate might not affect you, employees might still ask questions about it. They might come to you and you want to be able to answer their questions. The penalty being removed is a major change to the Individual Mandate. With one major change being made more are possible.

To better stay informed hire Ormond Beach payroll company Vision H.R. We can handle your payroll, update you on any changes in laws or regulations, administer all your benefits and be your Agent for all things regarding health insurance.  

Ormond Beach Payroll Company

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Happy Birthday and A Not So Happy Lawsuit!

Happy Birthday and A Not So Happy Lawsuit!

Birthdays are such an interesting holiday. There are years when we just can’t wait for them. There are also years when we wish they would just stop coming. In the middle are times we don’t want them but hey is that cherry chocolate cake? While we figure out how we feel about our next birthday we have another matter to consider. How do our employees feel about their upcoming birthdays? This is important because celebrating a birthday seems like such an easy thing to do. Who doesn’t want other people buying them a cake and gifts for their birthday? Well for one Jehovah Witnesses don’t. Some more conservative Christians don’t either. Along with some Muslims. In fact Birthday celebrations used to be considered as pagan celebrations. Bet you didn’t know that.

   This is just one reason why we have to be careful when it comes to celebrating employee birthdays. Many people don’t wear a religious label around their neck with all their beliefs on it. Another reason we have to be careful is that of age discrimination. Some people don’t mind when you celebrate their birthdays. They do mind when you start commenting on their age. Many don’t like to carry the title of “old” or “over the hill” or being asked, “did you ever ride a dinosaur?” While some will take it in good humor some might get upset or even get an attorney involved. It might seem like something small to file a lawsuit over. Remember, however, small things become lawsuits every day.

   Another prominent risk is forgetting birthdays. I’ll be the first to say here that at times I get so busy that I forget my own birthday is coming up. That’s not really a problem for me. I understand that I have other things going on. What happens, however, if I celebrate Nancy’s birthday in accounting but forget Drew’s in marketing? Drew is going to wonder why I opted not to celebrate his birthday and his coworkers are going to wonder if there is favoritism in the office. Both make for poor office morale.

   So how do you navigate the dangerous legal maze of celebrating Birthdays? The first step should be knowing basic things to do and to avoid. Regardless of someone’s age, you shouldn’t comment on it. Even if they are just eighteen it is best to just avoid the subject altogether. Simply tell them Happy Birthday. Also, make use of a digital calendar to keep track of birthdays. Google Calendars will send reminders to your phone and email when certain events are coming up. This way you never forget a birthday.

   Also find a consistent form of celebration as well. Gift cards are a good and basic way to gift employees. Some local restaurants might even give discounts if you go through them. You can also buy gift cards in bulk so they are always on hand. This way even if you miss the birthday notification you’re still ready.

   Another option is to have a competent human resource department to handle these situations. Don’t have time to build one? You can always hire a company like Vision H.R. to handle your Ormond Beach human resource management needs.

Ormond Beach Human Resource Management

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Implementing a Daytona Beach 401(k) Benefit Package

Implementing a Daytona Beach 401(k) Benefit Package

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay”.

-Simone de Beauvoir

It’s important to prepare for the future. When you are an employer, it’s more than you that you have to look out for. You also have to make sure your employees are prepared. It helps you invest in your own future and invest in your employees. By helping them prepare for their future, they feel more secure in their work. It makes the employee’s investment worthwhile.

An employee is making an investment when they start a job. They are investing their time, skills, and willingness to deal with customers. They want to get a decent return on that investment. Payroll isn’t always enough. Sometimes they need a little extra incentive. One way to keep them for the long run is to plan for the long run. This means benefits that build toward a happy retirement.

Other employee benefits like paid vacation are good for retaining employees right now. Retirement plans keep employees invested in the job over time. It gives them a goal to work toward. It also eases the worry about planning for tomorrow. So now that we have an idea, how do we start it?

401(k) Retirement Program
 
A 401(k) is a form of retirement planning employees can invest in with each check. The investment comes before taxes and isn’t taxed until it gets withdrawn. Even then, it’s only taxed if withdrawn before retirement age. It allows employees to invest in their own future with their employer’s help. Investing is also simple to begin. The employee has the investment come out of each check. It all works as a part of Payroll.
 
This makes for a hassle-free investing experience. Moreso when you have a payroll company like Vision H.R. start the 401(k) so employees can start investing.

Vision H.R. offers a Multiple Employer Plan. This means one company sponsors the 401(k). Other companies can join the plan as adopting companies. You still get to create and personalize your 401(k) plan. The main difference is you don’t have the frustration or expenses of starting your own plan. All you have to do is join in and enjoy the benefits. In order to have access to Vision H.R.’s 401k plan, you must outsource payroll to Vision HR and have the minimum level of HR offering.  
   
By implementing a Daytona Beach 401(k) retirement program you can keep employees for longer. It will also give them more peace of mind, which means more productivity. Learn more about how to get started today by contacting Vision H.R.

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Daytona Beach 401(k)

Human Resource Management: Building Bridges To Opportunity

Human Resource Management: Building Bridges To Opportunity

Do you know what a human resource management professional does? Most of us know that you don’t want to be sent to a human resource or H.R. department because it typically means some sort of disciplinary action. Handling disruptions between employees is actually a small part of a human resource departments job. A human resource department, manager, director, etc have a very large part in the success of a business. In the modern age, the H.R. department is largely responsible for hiring, retaining, and developing an effective workforce for a company. This means finding the best candidates for a position, deciding the best way to optimize the work that employee produces, and how to motivate that employee to stay productive.

As businesses grow and adapt to modern trends, those who specialize in human resource management have to grow and adapt to them. One of the challenges that human resource workers will have to face and are already beginning to experience, is the integration of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) into a company’s workflow. Before we get into how A.I. integration will present new challenges and opportunities, let us take a look at how A.I. is being implemented today.

When you mention the idea of A.I. or Artificial Intelligence, many automatically assume you are speaking of sentient machines, potentially ones that want to eliminate mankind. Thanks to films such as the Terminator franchise, artificial intelligence has a certain stigma attached to it. The truth is that artificial intelligence is already largely ingrained in our lives. While the technology itself is still in it’s more primitive state compared to the possibilities of future implementation, if you use Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix, or a digital assistant such as Siri or Alexa, than you are already co-existing with artificial intelligence. The main use of artificial intelligence at this point in time is predicting behavior. When you make a purchase or a search on Amazon, it shows you products it believes you would like to purchase as well as the one you searched for. This is created by artificial intelligence working behind the scenes to try and connect you with other products. Netflix does something similar when it says “You may also like”. Tesla also makes extensive use of artificial intelligence in its autonomous vehicles or vehicles that can literally drive on their own. The A.I. tells the vehicle how to react to stimulation on the road such as road signs, stop lights, and other drivers.

While integration into the workplace is still in the very early stages of its development, it is a technology that will, without question, continue to grow. Once artificial intelligence becomes a prominent part of the workflow, eyes will turn to the human resource department to bridge the gap between man and machine. Artificial Intelligence cannot perform the work of an entire company on its own. It will, however, become a powerful tool for those who know how to use it and implement it. As artificial intelligence progresses, the fear of employees losing their position will grow. It will be the responsibility of the human resource department to create an environment where both human based and A.I. based work can co-exist and ease concerns some employees might develop about being replaced. This will include placing employees into a position where artificial intelligence will boost their productivity, creating opportunities for employees to learn more about artificial intelligence, and having high hopes that sci-fi films are mistaken about machines rising up and overthrowing humanity.

For the moment, the best course of action for human resource professionals, or for companies that are working to establish an effective human resource department is to stay informed. The best examples of a competent H.R. department is one that stays at the front of the ever-changing H.R. trends, laws, and practices. The only other way to have an effective human resource department is to have a company such as Vision H.R., a team of Daytona Beach Human Resource Experts, take over and handle your human resource responsibilities. To decide for yourself the best course of action, Vision H.R. offers free estimates for its services, so Click Here to get started. After all, proper human resource department can be a key asset to the success of your company.

Daytona Beach Human Resource Management

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Payroll Trends of 2018

Payroll Trends of 2018   

With each passing year, new technology is introduced into the payroll industry. Each year more companies are moving to a paperless payroll service. An effective online payroll system has numerous benefits for a company that can cut back on the cost of payroll and the potentially massive amount of paperwork that can come with it. Along with the paperless payroll systems being used by many companies, there is also the rise of outsourced payroll companies that already have these systems set up and ready for their potential clients. The question that this trend brings up is rather or not your company should take advantage of a fully paperless payroll system yet.

   As with any major business decision, there are aspects to it that you have to consider. For instance, a larger company (100+ employees) would easily benefit from a digital payroll system. That is a lot of employees to manage individual and a digital payroll can give each employee an opportunity to access their payroll and potentially even sign up for benefits and other payroll opportunities. Some programs even allow an employee to request vacation time and for an employer to directly approve or deny the request through the program or application. Another added benefit is being digital and done through a cloud-based system, the payroll can be managed from anywhere you can connect to the internet.

  As these digital payroll programs become simpler and more accessible with each passing year, more companies will fully shift their payroll to benefit from them. For smaller companies, however, there will be a slower shift to a fully digital payroll. Where a larger company will easily benefit from implementing their payroll into a digital format, a smaller company with less than a 100 employees might not find the procedure of implementing the software beneficial to the work of simply doing the payroll themselves. This becomes more apparent the smaller the company is. Shifting from a paper to digital system takes an investment in time and effort that might simply not be worth it just yet for a company that doesn’t require a serious payroll department.

  However, it could be equally worth having for a company that plans on substantial and steady growth. Implementing a digital system that can easily accommodate more employees when the company is smaller and limited will have it in place for when the company grows to a size that can benefit from such a system.

  This creates an optimal field for outsourced payroll companies to bridge the gap between the two forms of payroll. Being able to implement services for a smaller company to manage their payroll, while also having a digital system that can benefit larger potential clients, outsourced payroll companies will be able to grow expeditionary and aid in the general shift from older models of payroll to the new, digital-based systems. Payroll companies such as Daytona Beach Payroll Company Vision H.R. have already implemented an easy to navigate the digital system for their clients that is easy to use for both the employer and the employee. Companies like Vision H.R. are paving the road to the future trends and customs of payroll management, making it easier for businesses small and large to follow these new trends.

Start The Year Off Right

Daytona Beach Payroll Management

Right now, your eyes are most likely on the holiday season. We are on that long stretch to Christmas and if you handle things right, sales are going to skyrocket. Even if you don’t do things the right way, you will likely see an increase in sales. After all, it’s a magical time of year. What is going to come after the end of the holiday season, however, when sales go back to normal? It is always great to have that increase in sales but we always have to make sure we have a good foundation to build it on. That firm foundation is what will carry the company through the heavy sale days and the slow sale days. Some important building blocks for this foundation are found in the payroll department.

Payroll is an important department to stay on top of because it is a department that you can’t let slide. If you tell your employees just one time that you can’t pay them, or can’t pay them their full paycheck, don’t be surprised if some jump ship. Even if they do decide to stay they will have that lingering fear that the company won’t make it much longer and be looking for safer shores. This is because an employee’s paycheck is what enables them to survive and because payroll is directly tied to employee morale. You get what you pay for, and if you don’t pay an employee what they are worth, you are not going to get their full worth from them.

There are also a lot of numbers involved with a payroll that can be confusing to someone that isn’t properly trained in it. For example, knowing how to pay an employee what they are worth. There is also taxes, holiday pay, sick leave, benefits, bonuses, pay periods, forms of employment, and more. Even with the increase in sales, you need to be able to figure out how many more hours you can have employees work to cover the extra work. All this math and figuring might make payroll feel like a necessary evil, but really it doesn’t have to be all that complicated.

Setting up payroll can be easy if you let someone else do it, or rather, someone with experience. When you outsource your payroll responsibilities to a payroll company, not only do you put your payroll in the care of a trusted team of professionals, you get a trusted team of professionals to help you make the right decisions when it comes to doing payroll. While the payroll company will handle the responsibilities for payroll, you still have to decide how much to pay an employee, what kinds of benefits to give to them, etc. With an outsourced payroll department you can get easy to read reports on how much payroll is costing you, so you can see how much more you can spend. You can also ask them about what to pay new employees, how often to give them a raise, and the best way to implement benefits.

While you can implement an outsourced payroll at any time, the beginning of the year is the best time to get started. They can help you with the upcoming tax time and you will have them taking care of your payroll for the whole year, making sure things stay in order from beginning to end. Besides, like the old saying goes, “There’s no time like the present”. So take the first step and request a free quote from Vision H.R.

More Than Having Benefits

More Than Having Benefits

Having employee benefits is a great incentive to help employees feel more secure about their job. It lifts morale and helps reduce the employee turnover rate. On top of that, when done through a company like Vision H.R. they come easily to implement as well. There is one major thing to remember, however, when it comes to having employee benefits. Making sure that employees know what benefits they have and if they qualify for them. Some companies like to do a trick where they display all these wonderful benefits but don’t tell how you have to be there for a period of time before you get any of these benefits. The other side is that a company has benefits for their employees but don’t clearly label them or make the information easy to access. When this happens an employee has wonderful benefits, but no idea they are there which doesn’t help morale or productivity.

How do you make sure an employee knows what benefits they have available to them? One of the most overlooked resources an employer has is the Employee Handbook. An Employee Handbook can have all kinds of information for an employee to look up. From safety procedures to paid holidays to all employee benefits and how to apply for them. Not only does it place all relevant information for the company and their employment in one location, it saves you the time and hassle of having to tell employees again and again.

Another option is to put the relevant information in a location where employees can easily see it. One option is to place some form of the infographic in the break room so employees can read it at their leisure. You can do this digitally as well if you have any form of the online system. You can place the relevant information where employees can easily access it from their work area, on their own computer, or on their phone.

You made the right choice offering employee benefits, now it’s time to present them to your employees in an easy to understand and access format. If you need help with this, contact Vision H.R. to create a detailed employee handbook to help your employees along with other human resource responsibilities. We can also help you set up employee benefits if you haven’t already set up benefits for your employees. Vision H.R. likes to cover multiple areas of a business involving Human Resource Management and Payroll to make it easier for a company to prosper by taking the responsibility off their hands. Contact Daytona Beach Employee Benefits Company Vision H.R. today.