SmallBiz Brainiac: Recent Episodes
Thomas Rock Lindsay : HR
It’s time to turn my attention toward executing the business plan I’ve been working on for the past 12 months. Hey everybody, welcome to the FINAL episode of SmallBiz Brainiac! Yes… I’m ending this podcast. That’s hard for me to say, actually. This has been a labor of love for me and I’ve learned so much from doing this. It was a bit scary starting off. If you go back to the first 100 episodes… I pretty much sucked. I think the content is solid but as a podcaster, I stink… still do.
So, I’ve been thinking about ending the show for several weeks now, and I’ve finally decided that it’s time to turn my attention toward executing the business plan I’ve been working on for the past 12 months.
When I started this show 17 months ago, I didn’t have a clear picture of how I would incorporate it into my business. In fact, I started it before I had my current business.
At the time, I was in a role transition. I almost said career transition, and that’s kind of true except I’m still in the same industry, just a different role. In 2015 I decided to resign from my position as the Chief Operating Officer of a large and growing Professional Employer Organization called Vensure Employer Services. But after almost 23 years of being in the operations side of the business, I needed a change.
There are a lot of reasons why I made the difficult decision, but I didn’t realize how much the job was a part of my identity until I was no longer the COO. Walking away from it was a mixture of emotions. After all, I co-founded the company with my Uncle back in 2004 and I was the CEO until July of 2012, when the new majority shareholder came in and took over that role, and I stepped into the COO role.
Since then, the company has gone through a lot of changes, it has grown significantly, and is now a major league player in the PEO industry. I’m really proud to have been a part of the company’s success, and to have helped create something that is doing so well today. Even though I resigned from Vensure, I’m still working with Vensure.
I now own an insurance agency. But this isn’t your traditional insurance agency, it’s more like a business advisory firm. I’m on a mission to use my two and a half decades of business operations, accounting, insurance, HR, payroll, and risk management expertise; and my newly acquired marketing skills, which includes my ClickFunnels Certified Partner status, to make small business owners’ insurance premiums go further, to get more services… and better service, without spending any more than they already do. And Vensure is a big part of how I do that.
But let me get back to the point… which is when I started this podcast, my next step wasn’t clear. The origins of it actually go back to 2014. Fortunatly, I now have a clear vision of my path, and this podcast, SmallBiz Brainiac, isn’t the right fit. And so, it will be replaced with a new show later this year. One that will be perfectly aligned with where I’m going.
If you want to get an email announcing the launch of the new show, go to http://smallbizbrainiac.com/ (smallbizbrainiac.com) and sign up for the brainwave newsletter, and you’ll be the first to hear about it.
So, thank you, thank you, thank you, for listening. I hope you’ve learned a few things from this podcast. The one lesson I’d like you to take away is that you should hire a PEO to help you not just survive as an employer, but to thrive as one. You shouldn’t go at it alone. It’s too dangerous out there. Everyone wants a piece of you…the regulators, politicians, competitors, lawyers and leeches. A PEO is like your suit of armor. It will help protect you as you head into battle.
Empower your Managers to make their own hiring and firing decisions. Who in your organization should be responsible for recruiting, interviewing and hiring candidates? Who should be responsible for carrying out the unenviable task of letting employees go, regardless of whether it is for performance, behavior, or just downsizing? I’m a firm believer in tasking your managers with the responsibilities of hiring and firing their own staff.
That being said, it’s important your managers are well trained in this area so you’re not putting the company at risk. When I say have your managers hiring and firing their own staff, that does not mean they shouldn’t keep the HR department informed, or consult with them before making decisions. HR should still be part of any staffing process.
Hiring Responsibilities: Hiring an employee can be a time consuming process. Your managers may not have a lot of extra time to devote to going through all that’s involved. If this is the case, you may want to lean on your HR department for some assistance. If you don’t have an in-house HR team, your managers can do this on their own, it may just take time away from their everyday responsibilities. You could also outsource specific HR tasks to a third party.
If you do have an HR department, have your HR team handle the recruitment process for your managers. Nobody knows what a departments needs are better than the manager in charge of that department. At least it should be that way. Have the manager sit down with HR to complete the job description, listing all of the necessary requirements that they are looking for. HR can then take this information, create the job listing and then start the recruitment process. HR should post the available position on any of their preferred job sites, or even post the job internally to give an opportunity for advancement from within the company.
They may even want to engage a third party recruiter to start filling the interview pipeline. When a candidate responds to the listing, HR can do a “pre-interview” screening, usually over the phone to filter out any candidates that may not actually meet all of the requirements. Job seekers tend to respond to any opening whether they meet the posted requirements or not, so this phone screening is a good way to filter out the pretenders from the contenders so as to not waste anybody’s time with in person interviews of unqualified candidates.
Candidates who pass the phone screening can then be scheduled for an in person interview with the manager. If your manager is well seasoned in the interview process then they could perform the interview on their own. If not, it may be a good idea to have an HR representative attend the interview with the manager to help steer the interview and provide additional support to the manager. After concluding the series of interviews, the manager and HR should discuss each of the candidates and make a decision.
You want your managers to be hiring the candidates with the most attractive skill set to perform the job, not the most attractive physical appearance. Hiring decisions should be based on the candidates ability to perform the work. You want to empower them to do what’s best for their department to succeed. Allowing them to make their own staffing decisions shows you have confidence in their abilities. But don’t turn a blind eye. If a department is under performing, then maybe your manager isn’t making the right staffing decisions. Or perhaps you don’t have the right manager.
Termination Responsibilities: Along the same lines, when it comes time to terminate an employee the manager needs to be able to make these decisions and be involved in this process, but not without consulting HR. You don’t want to create a monster by allowing your manager to become a tyrant. Having a process in place for your managers to discuss their decision to want to terminate...
It doesn’t matter if you are guilty or not, an employment discrimination claim is going to cost you. EPLI stands for Employment Practices Liability Insurance.
The free report available on our website, smallbizbrainiac.com, called “8 Steps to Lowering Your Employer Liability”, is all about buying EPLI insurance. The very process of preparing the complete the application will put you in a great position.
So go get a copy of that report.
What is EPLI? EPLI protects you, your company, its directors, officers and both current and former employees from claims and lawsuits filed by….well, your current and former employees as well as employment candidates. Some policies will also cover claims made by third-parties, like customers, clients and vendors.
It covers the cost of defending you against claims or lawsuits related to your employment practices. It will also pay any judgment entered against you. At least up to the limits of the policy. It’s important to understand that the defense costs apply to the limit. So, if the policy limit is $500,000 and the legal costs are $200,000 that leaves $300,000 to pay settlements and judgments.
EPLI covers you against employment discrimination claims, sexual harassment claims, wrongful termination claims and violations of the Family Medical Leave Act and other mandatory leave violations. It usually does not cover you against wage and hour claims or violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
For example, if your terminate someone after they complain about sexual harassment, and they sue for retaliatory discharge, your EPLI insurance will pay the defense costs and any settlement or judgment amounts.
On the other hand, let’s say you misclassify an employee as salary exempt and you don’t pay them overtime. Your EPLI policy will not cover a claim for backpay.
It won’t pay for bodily injury or property damage or intentional or dishonest acts either.
Not all policies are the same so it’s important to understand what you’re getting.
Notice of Right to Sue: If an employee wants to sue you for discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or retaliation, they have to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, first.
After the EEOC has investigated the complaint, they may issue a https://www.eeoc.gov/employees/lawsuit.cfm%0A (Notice of Right to Sue). After that, your employee has 90 days to file a lawsuit.
If your employee wants to file a lawsuit before the EEOC has completed their investigation, they may ask for a Notice of Right-to-Sue. If more than 180 days have passed from the filing, then the EEOC is required to give them the notice. If it’s been less than 180 days, they won’t issue the notice unless they’ll be unable to finish their investigation within 180 days.
Employees don’t need a Notice of Right to Sue if they’re suing for age discrimination, but they still have to file a complaint with the EEOC, and must wait 60 days before suing. If they want to file a claim under the Equal Pay Act, they don’t have file a complaint with the EEOC. Instead, they can head straight to court, but they must file with 2 years. If the discrimination was willful, then they have 3 years to file.
There were 91,503 https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-18-17a.cfm%0A (discrimination charges processed by the EEOC in fiscal year 2016). They resolved 97,443 charges and collected over $482 million. So, they were able to gain some ground on their case backlog. Almost 46% of charges included retaliation claims. After that, the most popular are race, disability and sex discrimination. The two charges with the least number of complaints, making up 1.3% combined, were Equal Pay Act and Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act violations.
Discrimination Claim Examples: Not sure what a discrimination claim looks like? Here are
Total compensation statements show employees how much you’re actually investing in them. Today I want to talk to you about your employees total compensation. No, total compensation is not simply the employees annual salary. It is more than that.
It refers to the total cost of employing an individual.
Why is this important? I believe this to be important on two levels. It’s important for employers to have an idea of just how much it costs to employ someone. This may help you make more informed hiring and firing decisions.
It’s also important that the employee understands that their compensation is more than just what their paycheck shows every payday.
http://www.payscale.com/compensation-today/2017/03/share-total-compensation-statements-employees (According to a study conducted by Human Resource firm PayScale), nearly 40% of all businesses prepare total compensation reports for their employees.
Total Compensation: Total compensation can be defined as the employee’s cash wage plus any non-cash benefits that are paid on behalf of the employee by their employer. A lot of times these non-cash benefits are never seen by the employee, therefore they have no idea that you the employer are even paying them.
Or maybe they have an idea, but it’s never discussed with them so they may not really see it as a benefit for them. Let’s go over some of the non-cash items that you are most likely to be contributing on behalf of your employees.
Health Insurance is going to be one of the largest, if not the largest non-cash value that your employees receive. There are also employer paid matching retirement contributions, and let’s not forget the employer paid portion of payroll taxes. These will be the most common items factored into a total compensation report that you may prepare.
Your organization may provide additional non-cash benefits such as Flexible Spending Accounts, life insurance, disability insurance or any other benefit you may provide that was not mentioned. Costs such as equipment or workplace amenities would not be included in a typical total compensation report.
Let’s put a quick example together.
Let’s say you hire a new employee at $50,000 per year annual salary. As previously stated, this number simply represents the gross pay, before taxes, that your employee will be paid in cash. The employees annual salary is obviously going to be the lions share of the total compensation report. Then if you factor in the FICA taxes which are 15.3%, 7.65% of which is paid by you the employer. On $50,000, that number is $3,825.
So you can see already it’s going to cost you at least $53,825 to pay your employee $50,000. Let’s say you have a medical plan where the company pays 100% for the employee only, family coverage is extra and would be paid by the employee. For the purpose of our example, the employee only coverage is just over $416 per month.
This adds up to around $5000 for the year. Lets throw in a retirement plan where the employer matches 25% on the first 4% that the employee contributes. In this example the employer matching contribution would be $500. So that’s a pretty basic benefit offering and if we add all that up we get a total compensation report that shows us that it will take $59,325 to pay this employee an annual salary of $50,000 and provide a basic benefit offering.
In reality, it will actually cost you a little bit more than this because we didn’t factor in unemployment taxes and any other employer paid taxes that may be due at a state level. These items are typically not included in a total compensation report.
You can tailor the compensation report to your needs. You can decide what to include and what not to include in the report. If you don’t think that your matching contribution to the retirement plan is not all that generous, and you don’t want to highlight that piece, you are free to leave it out....
The city of Minneapolis has bought into the voodoo economic theory that they can regulate the labor market and bend it to their will. Even if you don’t have employees in Minneapolis, you need to stay on top of all the local HR laws because they are a sign of things to come. Especially if you live in a city that is governed by Democrats.
The city of Minneapolis has bought into the voodoo economic theory that they can regulate the labor market and bend it to their will. They’ve jumped on the municipality minimum wage bandwagon and passed an http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/groups/public/@clerk/documents/webcontent/wcmsp-201278.pdf (ordinance) creating a city minimum wage of $10.00 effective January 1, 2018 and increasing each year until it reaches $15.00 in 2024.
The City Council and Mayor apparently unhappy with the federal and state governments lack of action to protect the city’s citizens health, safety and general welfare, have taken matters into their own dirty little hands.
You see, the labor market, and every other segment of the economy, are far too complex for any one politician or gaggle of politicians to understand, let alone control. They can manipulate the markets, thereby making them more expensive and complex. They can even kill certain markets sending them into the black market. But the only certain outcome of their meddling is damaging unintended consequences.
Seattle’s Minimum Wage: Seattle’s minimum wage took effect April 1, 2015. The minimum gradually increases to $15 per hour as early as this year, and as late as 2021, based on the size of the business. After reaching $15 per hour, it will increase every January 1st thereafter, based on the Consumer Price Index for the area.
So how’s it working so far for low-wage workers? The answer, not so well. According to The Seattle Minimum Wage Study Team at the University of Washington, employers have cut their payroll, postponed hiring and reduced hours or terminated employees. Overall, the study says the average low-wage worker lost $125 month because of the increase in the minimum wage. And those are the results of just the first 9 months. Long before the full-effect will be felt.
The reports says:
“… our best estimates find that the Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance appears to have lowered employment rates of low-wage workers. This negative unintended consequence (which are predicted by some of the existing economic literature) is concerning and needs to be followed closely in future years, because the long-run effects are likely to be greater as businesses and workers have more time to adapt to the ordinance.”
But, maybe economics work differently in Minneapolis. After all, I’m sure, being the rhode scholars they aren’t, the City Council members know what they’re doing.
States Are Fighting Back: I don’t know if they have the authority to do this or not, but other municipalities have had their actions overturned by the state and blocked from future similar ordinances. According to an article on the https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/upshot/blue-cities-want-to-make-their-own-rules-red-states-wont-let-them.html%0A (New York Times) website titled: Blue Cities Want to Make Their Own Rules. Red States Won’t Let Them., states have banned local ordinances from passing minimum wage increases and paid sick days.
In St. Louis for example, a new State law takes effect on August 28th pre-empting the City’s minimum wage ordinance. Their $10 minimum only took effect on May 5, 2017. It was going to increase to $11 on January 1, 2018… but, no more.
And in another example, just as the city of Birmingham passed a minimum wage ordinance, the State of Alabama passed a law pre-empting the City from regulating minimum wage.
So, time will tell if Minneapolis’s ordinance survives.
Minneapolis’s Municipal Minimum Wage: The Minneapolis Ordinance says the City has broad authority through its police powers to enact regulation to further the public...
A Big challenge with remote employees is communication. Some managers fall victim to the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome. Having remote employees away from your main or corporate office is nothing new. With today’s technology however, it has become increasingly more prevalent.
Businesses are no longer forced to look in their local market for potential employees. As with most things in life, this can be both a blessing and a curse.
You can really expand your pool of qualified candidates if you’re willing to look beyond your local market, but hiring employees out of state brings additional challenges for HR, as well as the remote employee’s direct supervisor or manager.
Let’s take a look at some of the challenges you’ll face from hiring remote employees.
HR Challenges: Conducting an interview for a remote employee may be a bit more challenging than a standard in-person interview. A telephone interview may be sufficient, however it’s difficult to get an accurate read on a potential candidate with out being able to see them. A video interview using a service such as Skype, may be a better solution if an in-person interview just isn’t possible.
After the interviews are conducted and the decision is made to hire a remote employee, the on-boarding process comes into play. Some companies may opt to have a newly hired employee come into the office for the first few days of employment for on-boarding and training purposes, even though they will ultimately be working remotely.
This is a great way to go if you can afford it. It’s an opportunity to properly introduce the new hire to their co-workers, as well as go through a proper on-boarding, where the employee learns about the company’s expectations and culture.
You may also find in-person training to be more effective than remote training.
If bringing out a new hire to your corporate location is cost prohibitive, then remote on-boarding is possible. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of remotely on-boarding a new hire is the completion of the Form I-9.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires the employment authorization documents to be physically examined. Because of this, you will need to utilize an authorized representative in the area of the remote employee to complete this process.
https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/i-9-central-questions-answers/faq/i-hire-my-employees-remotely-how-do-i-complete-form-i-9 (The USCIS states:) “You may designate an authorized representative to fill out Forms I-9 on behalf of your company, including personnel officers, foremen, agents or notary public. When completing Form I-9, you or authorized representative must physically examine each document presented to determine if it reasonably appears to be genuine and relates to the employee presenting it. Reviewing or examining documents via webcam is not permissible.”
One additional note to be aware of: “If an authorized representative fills out Form I-9 on your behalf, you are still liable for any violations in connection with the form or the verification process.” Your other on-boarding processes can be completed remotely such as benefits enrollment, delivery and explanation of employee handbook, explanation of company policies, etc.
Supervisor/Manager Challenges: Managers are tasked with many day to day responsibilities. The most important task is managing their employees. It’s a difficult aspect of the job to begin with. Managing all the different personalities that make up their team. Making sure that you have a cohesive team that works well together and is productive is not always as easy as some may think.
Adding remote employees to the mix does not always make things easier. You may be able to avoid some of the day to day clashes between co-workers that maybe are not a great personality fit, but a new set of challenges may arise.
One of the biggest...
Nine million people lost their jobs in the Great Recession, and over 150,000 businesses shutdown. Create a plan for dealing with it before it happens again. I’ve spent 3 episodes teaching you what a recession is and what economic indicators you should be watching to signal danger. I’ve tried convincing you that we’re on the verge of another one, and that it’ll be worse than the previous “Great Recession”.
You should certainly care about recessions because they have a very real impact on your business. You might have forgotten the pain caused by the last one. You might not have been in business back then, or maybe you weren’t even in the labor market. You might have been in school and oblivious to the effects.
You might not like this subject or even believe we’re on the verge of another, more serious one.
Regardless, recessions are a reality, and another one will happen. In fact, if we are still in the post Great Recession expansion, then its the third longest expansion in our history. Only two other times have we gone this long between recessions.
About 9 million people lost their jobs in the Great Recession, and over 150,000 businesses shutdown.
So, you should have a plan for dealing with it before it happens. That way, when it does, and it will, you’ll know what to do. Whatever you do, don’t stick your head in the sand and wait for reality to punch you in the face.
New Recession Data: Just since the last episode, https://schiffgold.com/key-gold-news/the-mother-of-all-bubbles/?utm_source=SchiffGold+News+&+Promotions&utm_campaign=f4f187715f-PSGN_17_07_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0d6db532dd-f4f187715f-193555441 (an article in Schiffgold) dated July 26th says:
“We have reported extensively on the stock market bubble, the student loan bubble, and the auto bubble. We even told you about a shoe bubble. But there is one bubble that is bigger and potentially more threatening than any of these.
The massive debt bubble.”
And the CEO of US Global Investors, Frank Holmes, writes in a July 25th http://www.businessinsider.com/the-mother-of-all-bubbles-keeps-gold-in-focus-2017-7%0Ahttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-mother-of-all-bubbles-keeps-gold-in-focus-2017-7 (article in Business Insider), that some people are calling it the “mother of all bubbles”.
He goes on to say that the Institute of International Finance (IIF), puts global debt at an astronomical $217 trillion as of the first quarter of 2017. That’s 327% of what the entire world produces in a year.
Global debt was “only” around $150 trillion back in 2008, and now, it’s at $217 trillion. So, in 10 years, the world has added about $120 trillion. That’s mind numbing!
Schiffgold reports that we Americans have racked up more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, and as of the end of 2016, the average credit card debt per American household was $8,377.
Consider this. If you add up the national debt, national unfunded liabilities and personal debt, that would be $446,540 per citizen! And if you took all the personal and business assets and sold them, each citizen would still be left owing over $38,000.
So… all this debt, has consequences.
HR’s Recession Plan: Here’s how you should prepare for the next recession from an HR standpoint.
First, update your organizational chart, and keep it current. You should be reviewing and updating it monthly. You’ve gotta have a clear picture of the positions within your company, the hierarchy, and who’s working each one.
Then, update or create a detailed job description for each position. I go over how to create a job description in http://www.smallbizbrainiac.com/creating-a-job-description/ (episode 2). Job descriptions are overlooked or neglected in most small businesses. The roles and responsibilities of positions in small businesses often change, and that’s one of the reasons why they aren’t maintained. It’s also one the reasons why they’re so important.
But don’t let
If you don’t take HR seriously, no one else in your company will either. I know you are serious about your business. You’re serious about the work that you do to service your clients. Are you carrying this seriousness over to your own employees? You want, and frankly need, your employees to be your biggest asset and not become your biggest liability.
Today I want to focus on a high profile company that has not taken HR matters seriously and it has finally caught up with them and has shaken the make up of that company. If you have paid any attention to HR news lately then I’m sure you have heard about the issues going on at Uber.
Uber of course is the ever popular ride sharing company that has helped revolutionize the transportation industry with it’s easy to use mobile app that allows riders to schedule a ride and pay for it without having to exchange physical cash. The app is tied to the riders credit card in order to ensure payment.
Ubers HR Issues: Uber has suffered massive negative effects to their public image recently due to poor HR tactics and company culture. Their issues have been well documented and are somewhat perplexing due to the length of time in which the culture that created their problems have persisted.
Details of Ubers culture, which some have dubbed a “frat-boy” culture, began to come to light for the masses in 2017 when a former employee named Susan Fowler published a blog post titled “http://Reflecting%20On%20One%20Very,%20Very%20Strange%20Year%20At%20Uber (Reflecting On One Very, Very Strange Year At Uber).”
In the blog post Susan Fowler describes an alleged event of harassment and how Uber responded to her report. The post reads “After the first couple of weeks of training, I chose to join the team that worked on my area of expertise, and this is where things started getting weird.
On my first official day rotating on the team, my new manager sent me a string of messages over company chat. He was in an open relationship, he said, and his girlfriend was having an easy time finding new partners but he wasn’t. He was trying to stay out of trouble at work, he said, but he couldn’t help getting in trouble, because he was looking for women to have sex with. It was clear that he was trying to get me to have sex with him, and it was so clearly out of line that I immediately took screenshots of these chat messages and reported him to HR.”
Susan then goes on to describe her interactions with Uber HR saying “Uber was a pretty good sized company at that time, and I had pretty standard expectations of how they would handle situation like this. I expected that I would report him to HR, they would handle the situation appropriately, and then life would go on. Unfortunately, things played out quite a bit differently.
When I reported the situation, I was told by both HR and upper management that even though this was clearly sexual harassment and he was propositioning me, it was this mans first offense, and that they wouldn’t feel comfortable giving him anything other than a warning and a stern talking to. Upper management told me that he “was a high performer” (i.e. had stellar performance reviews from his superiors) and they wouldn’t feel comfortable punishing him for what was probably just an innocent mistake on his part.
I was then told that I had to make a choice: I could either go and find another team and never have to interact with this man again, or I could stay on the team but I would have to understand that he would most likely give me a poor performance review when review time came around, and there was nothing they could do about that.”
If everything in Susan Fowlers account is accurate, then Ubers HR team did not appear to take this matter as seriously as they should have. You could argue that the HR teams response to this incident is a direct result of the culture created at Uber.
The Miami...
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-fed-caused-93--of-the-entire-stock-market-s-move-since-2008--analysis-194426366.html (Yahoo Finance reported) in 2016 that 93% of the entire stock market move since 2008 was caused by Federal Reserve policy. In parts 1 and 2 we learned that a recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months. We also learned there’s NOT a consensus among economists about how to calculate if we are in one.
Besides, all the major players, using the traditional measures, missed calling the last recession… the Great Recession.
So it’s probably a good idea to look to those who did call it, and see what measurements they take. I’ve been calling these non-traditional recession indicators.
In this episode we’ll wrap up the argument… the argument being that we are very close to another recession, and that this one will be much worse than the last one, by looking at a few more “measuring sticks”.
Retail Store Closings: A huge slowing in consumer credit is contributing to the slowdown in retail sales. Major brands are shutting down more than 4,000 stores this year. Many of these are the result of bankruptcy.
Business Insider calls it a Retail Apocalypse. In a http://www.businessinsider.com/the-american-retail-apocalypse-in-photos-2017-3/%23the-mall-closed-after-many-retailers-including-sears-shuttered-their-locations-inside-the-shopping-center-5%0A (March 23, 2017 article, Kate Taylor) says “Walking through a mall in 2017 is like walking through a graveyard.”, and she provides some disturbing photographic evidence.
She also points out that visits to malls have declined by 50% from 2010 to 2013, according to the real-estate research firm Cushman & Wakefield. Fifty percent! That’s crazy!
In The Atlantic, Derek Thompson provides 3 reasons for this. A shift to online retail, too many malls were build, and a shift in spending from retail to meals and entertainment.
So is this just a shift in spending methods and preferences, or a sign of economic slowing?
It’s both. We’ve all changed the way we buy, but we’ve also borrowed a lot of money to make those purchases.
Auto Loans: After https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017-02-21/deepening-troubles-with-auto-loans-start-to-spread-pain%0A (record auto sales in 2015 and 2016), auto loan delinquencies have reached their “Great Recession” peak, but we’re not in a recession. Auto sales are down in 2017 even though interest rates are low and manufacturers are offering huge discounts.
Loan delinquencies of poor credit borrowers have reached the same level they were in 2009. But again, we’re not in a recession. So why does this matter?
Well, https://www.caseyresearch.com/the-auto-industry-has-peaked-heres-the-proof/%0A (Casey Research) looked at the S&P 500’s performance in relationship to auto sales. The S&P 500 is a measure of how the stock marker is performing. Since 2010, these two measurements have moved almost in sync with one another. So if that relationship continues, you can expect a sharp decline in the stock market to follow.
Stock Market Valuations: Speaking about stocks. They are (in general) greatly overvalued. The stock market is in a major bubble right now.
https://schiffgold.com/videos/gloom-dr-doom-marc-faber-predicts-massive-asset-price-deflation-videos/%0A (According to Marc Faber), valuations are super high and earnings are not real. He says they’re overstated.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-fed-caused-93--of-the-entire-stock-market-s-move-since-2008--analysis-194426366.html (Yahoo Finance reported) in 2016 that 93% of the entire stock market move since 2008 was caused by Federal Reserve policy. In other words, they printed a ton of money....
Even though Form I-9 revisions seem insignificant, failure to comply can result in fines. Today we’re going to focus on some changes that have recently been made to the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 by the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Overview of Form I-9: The Form I-9 has been in use since 1986 for the purpose of verifying the identity and work authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. This was all made possible by the passing of the Immigration Reform & Control Act. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and non-citizens.
Both employees and employers must complete the form. An employee must attest to his or her employment authorization. The employee must also present their employer with acceptable documentation confirming their identity and authorization to be employed in the United States.
The employer then must review the employment eligibility and identity documents presented to them by the employee to determine whether the documents appear to be authentic. The employer should then record the document information on the Form I-9.
The list of acceptable documents is located on the last page of the form. The employee can present a single item from List A, or present one item from each of List B and List C. Employers must retain Form I-9 and make it available for inspection or audit by authorized government officials.
Revisions to the Form I-9 is nothing new. The form has been modified numerous times over the years. These most recent revisions were just published this week so this information is hot off the press! Employers may continue to use the prior version of Form I-9 showing a version date of 11/14/16 N until September 17, 2017. After this date however, employers must start using the most recent version just released showing a date of 7/17/17 N.
There’s no need to wait until the last minute in September though. The new form is available now and you can get it by going to USCIS.gov and downloading the https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 (Form I-9).
Changes to Form I-9: So what has changed?
First, off let me just mention that here at SmallBiz Brainiac, we just love the topic of employment eligibility and the I-9. We love it so much that we have recorded numerous episodes previously regarding the Form I-9 process. Please don’t hesitate to go back and listen to episodes http://www.smallbizbrainiac.com/31-employment-eligibility-verification-form-i-9/ (31), http://www.smallbizbrainiac.com/76-new-i-9-and-paid-sick-leave-laws/ (76), http://www.smallbizbrainiac.com/2975-2/ (120), http://www.smallbizbrainiac.com/129-ices-image-certification-program/ (129) for more information about the I-9 process.
Now, focusing on the newest revisions to the Form I-9, what has changed? The changes to this version of the I-9 for the most part are just minor changes:
The new form will modify the forms instructions to remove the phrase “the end of” when describing the day on which Form I-9 completion is required. It now reads: “Employees must complete and sign Section 1 of Form I-9 no later than the first day of employment” instead of reading “no later than the end of the first day of employment.” So there you can see that “the end of” has been removed.
A revision to the name of The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. That name has been changed in the I-9 instructions to reflect the new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section. This change is found only in the 15 page Form I-9 instructions booklet and is not referenced in the 5 page Form I-9 itself.
The List of Acceptable Documents for Form I-9 has been changed as well.
The Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Form FS-240 has been added as a valid document under list C and is acceptable...
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Your Assigned Risk Plan Exit Strategy. In the last episode we learned about the residual market and the Assigned Risk Plan. This is the insurance market where companies who can’t find an insurance company to sell them a policy end up. The premiums are significantly higher in the residual market, making it difficult for you to compete…
What is the Residual Market and how do get out? What if you can’t find an insurance company who wants to offer you a workers’ compensation insurance policy? You’re required by state law to have it and you can’t be in business without it. If you do go without it and one of your employees…
You can be held liable for 100% of your employee’s debt if you don’t administer your garnishments properly. One of the least enjoyable parts of being an employer is when you have to get involved in your employee’s personal financial affairs. How? By having to withhold money from their paycheck and send it to a…
The United States remains mired in the ranks of the “mostly free,” the second-tier economic freedom status into which it dropped in 2010. Join me at FreedomFest 2016 in Las Vegas at the Planet Hollywood Resort from July 13th-16th. Some of the excellent Speakers: Learn from speakers like Judge Napolitano, Senator Rand Paul, Actor Ed…
Are you taking advantage of employment tax credits as you hire new employees? Are you even aware of these credits? If not, you’re missing the chance to get some of your tax dollars back and significantly reduce your payroll expense. Both the Federal and State Governments have billions of dollars set aside to pay you…
Small employers may qualify for federal tax credits toward group medical insurance purchased from healthcare.gov. In the last two episodes, 34 and 35, we learned about health insurance terms and how to use the benefit. In episode 20 on the Affordable Care Act, we learned a little bit about the federal government’s SHOP Marketplace. So,…
Only 33% of employees rated the benefits education they received as excellent, or very good. Do you know how to use the health insurance plan you offer to your employees? With the information from the last episode and with what I’m going to share with you today, you’ll be ready start teaching your employees how…
Teach your employees how to use their health insurance so they don’t make the mistake I did. Do you provide your employees with access to group medical insurance? It’s a great benefit to offer, but the premium is expensive. More than likely your employees have to pay part of that premium. But that’s just the…
A massive transfer of income begins December 1, 2016. The salary basis test says that the employee must be paid a predetermined and fixed salary that is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed. The salary level test says that the amount of the salary must meet a…
Follow this guide to make a job offer they can’t refuse. We’ve learned about the first 3 steps in the hiring process in earlier episodes. In episode 2 – Creating a job description, we learned how to define the position. In episode 12 – Where to find employees, we learned where to fish, and; in Episode 13 – Applicant tracking…
You can’t complete Form I-9 until after you’ve hired your employee. Form I-9 compliance is regulated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE is the audit and enforcement agency for the provisions of section 274A, the Unlawful Employment of Aliens section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). You…
A big brother program resulting from a draconian policy. The program was authorized by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 designed to drive away these illegal workers but employed illegal immigrants are net contributors and they help subsidize our largest social program…. Social Security. Here is how the federal government sells…
Cool employers offer health savings accounts! Health Savings Accounts were created in 2003 so that individuals covered by high-deductible health plans could receive tax-preferred treatment of money saved for medical expenses. These underutilized accounts have fantastic benefits to your employees. What is a Health Savings Account? A bank account that your employees own where they…
37% of Americans telecommute at least part of the time. An actual telecommuter claim: Mary worked from home selling window treatments, upholstery, bedding and pillows. She essentially worked out of her van and was required to keep current samples with her when going to appointments. She stored excess items in her garage, at her employer’s request. This was…
Are your employees covered for any injury while out of town on business? If you have employees that travel, even if occasionally, you need to understand what claims will be accepted and make sure your properly covered. A workers’ compensation claim must arise out of and occur “in the course (or scope) of employment” “Arise out of” typically…
Creating an engaged employee environment also requires that you focus on their well-being. About Kate Lister: Kate Lister has given me permission to read her fantastic report “What’s Good for People?”, on the podcast. Kate is president of Global Workplace Analytics and she’s an internationally recognized authority on emerging workplace strategies. Kate has co-authored three…
What can you do to enhance employee well-being? Wellness is only one component of your employees well-being. Workplace strategies that address employees’ physical, emotional, and social well-being can increase employee engagement. Kate Lister’s report: “What’s Good for People?”, written by Kate Lister, President of Global Workplace Analytics, broadens the discussion beyond employee engagement to encompass…
Legalization of medical marijuana is sweeping the nation. Twenty-three states plus DC and Guam, now have some form of medical marijuana legislation. States with medical marijuana laws: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon,…
Fire up your employees. Get them engaged and watch productivity rise. Created the environment where employee engagement practices can exist. Employe engagement is about creating an environment of inclusion and participation. It’s about your employee’s sense of belonging and value. Successful employee engagement improves retention and attracts top talent. It increases productivity and improves the quality of…
Are your employees fully engaged with your company? What is employee engagement? It’s about creating an environment of inclusion and participation. It’s about your employee’s sense of belonging and value. Successful employee engagement improves retention and attracts top talent. It increases productivity and improves quality. It makes your company stronger, more nimble and resilient. Imperfect…
Learn the steps to calculating ALE status under the ACA. The ACA requires applicable large employers (or ALEs) to offer health insurance that has certain “minimum essential benefits” (also referred to as minimum essential coverage) to at least 95% of their full-time employees. The insurance must provide “minimum value” and the premium must be “affordable”.…
As a small employer (definition applies) you do not have to comply with the ACA. However, you can still take advantage of the ACA to help your employees buy coverage. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the PPACA, the ACA, Obamacare – however you recognize it, whatever you call it. It has been 6…
Are you calculating your nonexempt employees work hours correctly? You are required to pay your nonexempt employees for all time worked. Seams easy enough, but there a nuances you need to know to be compliant. If your employee is required to be working, be available to work or is being permitted to work – at either your premises…
FLSA requires the payment of overtime to nonexempt employees. The FLSA requires you to pay overtime wages at the rate of one and one half times the regular rate of pay to nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a week. In order to calculate the overtime due you have to know these…
Do you know which positions qualify as exempt from overtime? The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is the body of law that establishes The minimum wage Overtime pay Recordkeeping Child labor standards Exempt and nonexempt refers to which employees you are required to pay overtime wages to. You have to pay overtime to a…
Delegation is vital to the success of your business. In episode 15 we talked about the first 5 pitfalls and today we’ll finish them off. 6. Not buying the right business insurance: Get an agent who specializes in your industry. Get an agent who is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (“CPCU”). Only about 4% of…
Don’t let the day-to-day noise distract you from what’s important. Here are the first 5 of the 10 small business pitfalls you should avoid. 1. Screwing up on payroll taxes If you don’t have the time or the experience then outsource your payroll to a reputable payroll service provider. 2. Misclassifying workers as independent contractors…
What’s the latest trend in minimum wage? There are significant changes in the minimum wage at both the state and local level in 2016. Fast Facts Minimum wage was established 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Back then, the rate was 25 cents an hour. The last minimum wage increase occurred in 2007.…
Recruiting made easy! The hiring process is complicated. There are many steps along the way. Everything from defining the position to on-boarding the new hire, and when you are in a hurry, or desperate for help, you get sloppy. Don’t skip critical steps and settle for the wrong person. Purchase an applicant tracking system, or “ATS”. ATS system features Creating…
What are the best sources for finding your next great employee? Here are the best sources for finding new employees? Recruiting Sources Family Recruiters Temporary staffing firms Job boards & search engines Referrals Referrals from current employees is the most successful source. There are 40,000 employment websites including job boards and search engines, according to…
Do I Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance? You probably already know that as an employer you are required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance, or work comp for short. What is it? Mandatory insurance for employers. A type of property and casualty insurance. State regulated. It pays for all the medical treatment necessary to return your employee to…
Do you know how to avoid payroll tax penalties? Congress established large penalties to deter employers from not paying their payroll taxes. The longer you delay paying, the more it will cost. The four payroll tax penalties Failure to deposit Failure to pay Failure to file; and the Trust fund recovery …..and the four things…
What Should You do if You Can’t Pay your Federal payroll Taxes? This is the fifth episode of a six-part series on Federal payroll taxes. If you haven’t listened to the first four episode in the series, I recommend that you go back and listen to episode 5. I am not an attorney, the information I am…
How and when are the taxes paid and reported? This is the forth episode of a six-part series on Federal payroll taxes. If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes already, I would recommend that you go back and listen to episode 5, which is the first part in the series. Tax Payments The…
What are the tax rates for each Federal payroll tax? This is the third episode of a six-part series on Federal payroll taxes. If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes already, I would recommend that you go back and listen to episode 5, which is the first part in the series. Rates Federal…
How do you calculate the taxable wage basis for each Federal payroll tax type? This is the second episode of a six-part series on Federal payroll taxes. If you haven’t listened to the first episode in the series I would recommend that you go back and listen to episode 5. Would you like to…
What are Federal Payroll Taxes? Welcome back! This is the first episode of a six-part series on Federal payroll taxes. In today’s episode we will identify and explain what makes up federal payroll taxes. Today we will learn: In today’s episode we will identify and explain what makes up federal payroll taxes. Why do you…
Are your workers properly classified? Take the IRS 11 point test to find out. If you have the right to control or direct only the results of the work and not how it will be done, or what will be done, then you have an independent contractor relationship. But, how do you make this determination? Today…
Independent contractor or employee? The importance of worker classification. Today as part of the hiring process, we are talking about worker classification. Is the worker an independent contractor or an employee? Today we will learn: How the gig economy’s use of independent contractors is being challenged. Why the proper classification is a BIG DEAL! Before…
Steps to writing a job description Why do you need job descriptions? A job description guides you to the right employee for the task. Every position in your company needs a job description. Having a job description can avoid “duty-creep” within all your positions. It helps you determine who is doing their job and who…
How to thrive as an employer I’m excited for you to join us and I’m thrilled to share the podcast with you. Welcome to SmallBiz Brainiac podcast, providing employer intelligence that helps you navigate the regulatory landscape and keeps you on course running the business you love! You didn’t go into business to be an employer so SmallBiz…