Over the last few years, the biggest trends for small businesses have included belt tightening due to the faltering economy, bracing for the still-unknown impact of healthcare reform, and struggling as the cost of unemployment insurance continues to rise.
Well, word on the street is that these trends are on the way out, in the PEO world at least. That’s because helping small businesses deal with these challenges is exactly what PEOs do:
This title may sound more like advice from a marriage counselor than a PEO sales professional, but please hang in there. I promise I’m going somewhere with this. I’m going to talk about staying the course and following the sound business principles that have proved successful over time, especially in this era of unparalleled challenge and change.
Tax rules under the Internal Revenue Code (Code) are inherently complicated. It is very difficult to know the actual benefit a client might receive from a particular credit because there are a lot of rules that could come into play. Some may not be used in that year, some are coordinated with other tax credits, and some are not available in certain circumstances. Thus, it’s hard to know what the real impact on the client is.
Job descriptions are boring to read and boring to write. They are definitely not the favorite assignment in the HR department. Lately, however, there have been some interesting lawsuits and court decisions that should have HR paying a little more attention to the details related to the “essential job functions.”
At least once a year, MedHQ staff members travel from the Chicago area to Alaska to visit clients, many of whom have relocated from the “lower 48” to work at health facilities there and often feel isolated, especially in the winter months.
A longstanding mission of NAPEO has been to create a statutory and operational framework at the state level that promotes the long-term viability and profitability of the PEO industry. This year was groundbreaking for the PEO industry.
It’s said that we find out a lot about who we are in the face of a crisis: Who we are as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. From the first responders who spring into action and put themselves in danger to assist those in need, to the neighbors who take care of each other by giving whatever they have to give, it seems it is in our times of greatest need that the best in all of us comes out.
The PEO Employment Index has continued to trend higher throughout the last reporting period as small to medium-sized businesses continue to grow, adding new employees throughout this year.
“Democracy is the worst form of government,” said Winston Churchill, “except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Having just come off of a seemingly endless campaign season, we can all sympathize with the thought.
Q. A client employs four Muslims who wish to use the company break room for their daily prayers. Is the client bound to grant their request?
With the presidential election behind us, the course of our nation for the coming four years is now much more predictable. One of the most discussed issues of the past election season was healthcare reform, particularly following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The first order of business for the lame-duck Congress is to prevent a fiscal calamity. The largest tax increase in history—$4.5 trillion—and $1.2 trillion in budget cuts that will slash defense spending and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs will be set in motion on January 1.
Even if legally justified, terminating employees over the age of 40 mandates compliance with the protections of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Older Workers’ Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA).
President Obama has won, the Democrats control the Senate, and the Republicans control the House. Status quo election. So, what does that mean for the PEO industry? Let’s look at some of the specific results of the election to obtain a better answer to this question.