The attached Small Business Guide and Checklist for COVID-19 Emergency Loans was prepared by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and sent via our friends at NAPEO.
PEOs Dealing with the Coronavirus
This PEO Flash Survey regarding how PEOs are dealing with the Coronavirus outbreak involved several interviews with PEO owners and executives, PEO brokers, Insurance brokers serving PEOs, bank representatives that work with PEOs and other vendors associated with the PEO Industry. This confidential survey was conducted by LJ Roberts of the LL Roberts Group in a conversational or interview manner. All parties interviewed in conjunction with this survey have been assured that their opinions, observations and comments will be kept confidential. However, what I can share is that the PEOs, companies, agencies, and organizations interviewed are located and operate from coast-to-coast. As a result, these observations and opinions are representative of a national perspective concerning the Coronavirus and its impact on PEOs and business in general.
The comments, opinions, insights, plans, and observations of those interviewed are presented as bullet points below:
We will continue to communicate with our survey respondents and will look to provide an update later during this Coronavirus crisis in order to keep our PEO friends and affiliates aware of Industry veterans’ experiences, observations, and opinions. Please let us know if you have any questions or additional comments that you want to share.
Below is a summary of the COVID-19 Relief Package from our friends at FisherBroyles
Components of H.R. 6201, COVID-19 relief legislation Temporary Expansion of Family and Medical Leave
has been closed, or the child care provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to a public health emergency.”Creation of a Temporary Paid Sick Leave Program
Refundable Tax Credits to Pay for Leave
Tax Credit for Expanded FMLA Leave
Tax Credit for Emergency Paid “Sick” Leave
Free Coronavirus Testing
To see COVID-19 information, please visit fisherbroyles.com
The companies, and other businesses, like Instacart, have also said they would compensate workers who contract the virus or are subject to quarantine orders.
Walmart, Uber and other major companies announced new policies this week to grant paid leave or other compensation to workers who contract the new coronavirus or are quarantined by order of the government or their companies.
The changes could help hourly and gig-economy workers in the service industry who do not normally receive paid time off, and who would bear an especially difficult burden of lost wages. But the policies may not go far enough to protect delivery people, store clerks, restaurant workers, taxi drivers and others whose public-facing and often low-paying jobs cannot be done remotely.
Walmart, the largest private employer in the country with 1.5 million workers, said on Tuesday that employees who contract the virus or who are subject to mandatory quarantines would receive up to two weeks of pay, and that absences in that time would not “count against attendance.”
Two weeks is generally the length of time that health experts recommend for quarantine or self-isolation. Workers who are infected and need more time to recover may be compensated for up to 26 weeks, the statement said. It added that workers who were not sick or quarantined, but who were uncomfortable reporting for work during the outbreak, would not be penalized.
Ride-hailing companies, whose drivers are generally classified as independent contractors and do not receive paid time off, offered few details about the compensation they promised to drivers affected by the coronavirus.
Uber said that drivers or delivery people who learn they have Covid-19 or who are asked to self-isolate by a public health authority “will receive financial assistance for up to 14 days while their account is on hold.” Lyft said that it would “provide funds” to drivers who are infected or placed under a quarantine.
The announcements came after calls from lawmakers and labor groups for companies to take action to ensure their workers’ health and safety — and after the first cases of coronavirus in workers for Walmart and Uber. (The Walmart employee worked at a store in Cynthia, Ky., and the company said she was recovering. The Uber driver, in New York City, was hospitalized.)
Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and other chain restaurants, also announced this week that all hourly employees would receive permanent paid sick leave benefits. Sick leave will accrue at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked, the company said in an email.
The company had previously opposed sick leave for its workers, and the announcement followed an article by the journalist Judd Legum published on Monday. Rich Jeffers, a company spokesman, said the new policy had been in the works before the outbreak, but that it was expedited “given the current environment.”
Instacart, which delivers groceries and other household items to customers through an app, announced this week that it was expanding its accrued-sick-time policy to all its part-time employees in North America. The company had previously offered sick pay in only some states. Instacart said it would also provide up to 14 days of pay to employees with diagnosed cases of Covid-19 or who are placed in quarantine.
Service industry workers, of course, are making it possible for other Americans to stock up on groceries or get deliveries as they stay home. Health experts say that preventing people who contract the virus from continuing to work is key to preventing widespread community transmission.
“Low-wage, hourly workers are already at greater risk of poor health because of their pre-existing condition of economic instability,” said Dr. Sandro Galea, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health.
“It is essential that our response to Covid-19 keeps a focus on the health of marginalized, vulnerable populations,” he continued. “By providing them with the necessary resources to be well — paid sick leave, etc. — we are not just supporting their health, we are supporting the health of whole populations.”
The specter of the new coronavirus has also spurred a renewed push for federally mandated paid sick leave. The United States is an outlier among rich countries for not requiring employers to provide it.
Democrats are promoting a new version of a bill that has been stalled in Congress for years — and trying to expand it to add 14 days of immediately accessible paid sick leave in the case of a public health emergency. Federal officials have also discussed a payroll tax cut and small business loans.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. called on officials to act immediately to shore up resources for workers during the outbreak, including paid sick leave.
“This is a public health crisis that demands strong and decisive action,” said William Samuel, the federation’s director of government affairs.
Congrats to G&A Partners who celebrates 25 years in business this year!
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HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–G&A Partners, a national professional employer organization (PEO) and human resources services provider, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The company is one of the largest and fastest-growing privately owned PEOs in the U.S., boasting a 93% client-retention rate and a Net Promoter Score that is 30-times higher than PEO industry standards.
Founded in 1995 by Chairman and CEO Antonio “Tony” Grijalva and President and COO John W. Allen, G&A Partners is a world-class HR services company that helps its clients build and maintain thriving businesses as they pursue their dreams and passions.
“We put people first at G&A and treat them like family,” Allen said. “Our employees are a cut above and they love what they do. Their energy and their joy are contagious, and that is what provides a phenomenal experience for our clients.”
The company has big plans to further expand over the next quarter-century, with the short-term goal to double in size over the next few years through organic growth and acquisitions.
“Everybody needs to employ good people,” Grijalva said. “Everybody needs to create an inviting culture that attracts and retains top talent. We offer our clients the tools and services to accomplish that goal, which also helps them grow and succeed.”
Grijalva and Allen discovered the need for outsourced HR not long after they formed their own CPA firm in the early 1990s. Their clients with small- and medium-sized businesses came to them asking whether they would consider expanding their services to payroll, employee benefits, and other HR functions.
Enough of a demand was present that Grijalva and Allen decided to purchase a temporary staffing agency and create G&A Partners (originally called G&A StaffSourcing) in 1995.
The business venture paid off and today G&A has evolved into a full-service PEO with nearly 400 employees that serve more than 2,000 companies comprising around 56,000 employees. G&A Partners has been consistently recognized as one of the best places to work in several of the markets where it operates.
About G&A Partners
G&A Partners, one of the nation’s leading professional employer organizations (PEO), has been helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses, take better care of their employees and enjoy a higher quality of life for more than 25 years. By providing proven solutions and technology in the areas of human resources, employee benefits and payroll administration, G&A Partners alleviates the burden of tedious administrative tasks and allows business owners to focus their time, talent and energy on growing their companies. Headquartered in Houston, G&A Partners has offices throughout Texas, as well as in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah, and Latin America.
The joint employer saga continues…see below from Insurance Journal regarding the Trump Administration’s announcement yesterday.
The Trump Administration announced a final rule setting forth standards for determining joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a rule that has been sought by franchisers and companies that employ contract workers.
The new rule from the Department of Labor, which will become effective in 60 days, is a departure from a legal interpretation adopted by the Obama Administration in 2016 and a 2015 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that expanded joint employment situations and made it easier for workers to sue their employers.
The new DOL rule, while not legally binding, does guide consideration of whether companies are classified as joint employers of workers and thereby can be held responsible for labor violations including requirements on minimum wage and overtime pay. The rule can affect franchising companies, contractors, temporary staffing, cleaning agencies and similar firms.
The issue has been central to several cases involving the chain McDonald’s and whether it can be held liable for alleged labor violations in its franchisees’ restaurants. Last month McDonald’s won a 2-1 victory before the current NLRB with Trump appointees—agreeing to pay $170,000 to settle workers’ claims against its franchisees but also winning a ruling that frees it from direct responsibility as a joint employer.
The Obama administration had backed worker advocacy groups in the litigation against McDonald’s.
The Obama standards for determining whether there is joint employer status themselves departed from long-standing precedent and made it easier for workers to sue their employer.
In its final rule, the Trump DOL provides a four-factor balancing test for determining FLSA joint employer status in situations where an employee performs work for one employer that simultaneously benefits another entity or individual. The balancing test examines whether the potential joint employer:
A business would not have to meet all of these criteria to be considered a joint employer.
The rule also sets forth when additional factors may be relevant to a determination of FLSA joint employer status and identifies certain business models, contractual agreements with the employer, and business practices that do not make joint employer status more or less likely.
Recent History
In a decision known as Browning-Ferris Industries, the NLRB in August 2015 overturned established precedent for determining whether a joint employer relationship exists under the National Labor Relations Act. Legal guidance adopted by the Obama DOL in 2016 reflected the expansion of joint employer liability cited in the Browning-Ferris ruling. For example, it considered a franchiser a joint employer not only if it exercised direct control of employees’ activities, but also if it had “indirect” or even “potential” control.
The Trump DOL withdrew the Obama guidance in 2017.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, DOL Secretary Eugene Scalia and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said the new rule should clarify the situation affecting these relationships and relieve companies of a potential liability.
“The new rule also gives companies in traditional contracting and franchising relationships confidence that they can demand certain basic standards from suppliers or franchisees—like effective antiharassment policies and compliance with employment laws—without themselves being deemed the employer of the other company’s workers. That will help companies promote fair working conditions without facing unwarranted regulatory costs,” the Trump officials wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
The International Franchise Association (IFA) praised the new rule as a “return to a simple, clear, and thoughtful joint employer standard.” IFA has argued that the Obama standard increased lawsuits against employers, cost jobs and sapped the American economy of $33.3 billion per year.
Robert Cresanti, IFA president and CEO, said the four-part test to determine employer status can clarify joint employer status, employer liability, and the roles and responsibilities of each party in a business relationship.
Worker groups have argued that a narrowing of the rule will create an incentive for large employers to outsource more jobs.
Rebecca Dixon, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, said the new rule “makes it easier for corporations to cheat their workers and look the other way when workplace violations occur.”
The liberal Economic Policy Institute has said workers could lose $1.3 billion in wages annually under the new rule.
There is more to come on the issue from the Trump Administration. While the DOL standards are not legally binding, the NLRB joint employer rule is. The NLRB is close to finalizing its own rule.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2020/01/13/554657.htm
Source: Insurance Journal
Premium decreases in California workers’ compensation may have escalated in 2019, a new report shows.
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California on Wednesday released its quarterly experience report, an update on California statewide insurer experience valued as of Sept. 30.
The report shows decreases in written premium since 2016 are primarily driven by decreases in insurer charged rates more than offsetting increases in employer payroll.
Written premium for 2018 was 4% below that for 2017 and 6% below that for 2016, according to the WCIRB report.
Highlights of the WCIRB report include:
The full report is available in the research section of the WCIRB website.