The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023. On April 15, 2024 the EEOC issued its final regulation to carry out the law. The final regulation goes into effect on June 18, 2024. Overview       What is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act? Generally, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires a covered employer to provide a “reasonable accommodation” to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an “undue ..read more

Are you using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to help you with your work tasks? Have you considered doing so? If so, read on to learn the advantages and risks associated with the use of AI in the workplace. What Is AI? Artificial intelligence (AI) is an umbrella term for a machine’s ability to make predictions, recommendations, decisions, and perform other tasks that would normally require human intelligence. Generative AI models, for instance, can create text, image, audio, and video in response to user prompts. ChatGPT is a kind of generative AI tool called a large language model. It fu ..read more

How Skills-Based Hiring Could Expand Your Applicant Pool Are you finding it difficult to fill job openings because not enough people are applying? You wouldn’t be alone. Some organizations are expanding their applicant pool by dropping the college degree requirement and instead adopting a more inclusive, skills-based approach to hiring. Would such an approach benefit your organization? To help you answer that question, we’ll go over reasons you might want to keep or eliminate the degree requirement and outline what a skills-based alternative could look like. The Upside of the Degree Requiremen ..read more

Frank Loconte, president of NER Construction Management Corporation and NER Management LLC, based in Wilmington MA was sentenced to 20 months in prison following his involvement in a fraudulent payroll scheme. He was also ordered to pay over $4.5 million in restitution and a $15,000 fine. Loconte pleaded guilty in September 2023 to charges of mail fraud and failure to pay taxes. From January 2014 to May 2022, Loconte systematically underreported overtime hours worked by union employees and failed to make the necessary payroll tax withholdings and payments. He also failed to contribute to pensi ..read more

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a final rule for independent contractor classification under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Here are details on the rule. Here’s a summary: Beginning on March 11, 2024, the rule will effectively reinstate the longstanding version of the “economic reality” test the DOL previously used. This test uses a multifactor, totality-of-the-circumstances analysis to determine whether a worker is an employee who is economically dependent on the employer for work, or an independent contractor (IC) who is in business for themself. Although ..read more

The minimum wage for work performed on or in connection with federal contracts will increase as follows: Contracts Covered by Executive Order 13658
: The minimum wage will increase to $12.90 per hour and the minimum base wage for tipped employees will increase to $9.05 per hour. Contracts Covered by Executive Order 14026
: The minimum wage will increase to $17.20 per hour. Additionally, the ability to take a tip credit and pay a lower base wage for tipped employees will be eliminated. The Department of Labor has published helpful FAQs on Executive Order 13658 and Executive Order 14026 ..read more

The IRS standard mileage rate will be 67 cents per mile driven for business purposes (up from 65.5 cents in 2023). This rate also applies to electric and hybrid vehicles. Use of this rate is optional, though it’s widely accepted as an easy and standard reimbursement rate for employees who use their personal vehicle for work. If your organization uses the IRS rate to calculate mileage reimbursement, be sure to update your systems to account for this change. The post 2024 mileage reimbursement rates appeared first on PayPlus, LLC-Meredith, NH ..read more

In an effort to provide our clients with the most robust payroll and HR platform, we are pleased to roll out our new payroll software, iSolved, over the first quarter of 2024. The transition will be gradual over the next few months, with the goal of having all clients on the new platform.   We will let you know when your business has been transitioned to the new platform. In the meantime, continue to submit payroll as usual.    iSolved is a full payroll and human capital management (HR) software, which includes such features as:  Employee onboarding (new hires) Empl ..read more

Everyone needs time off from work, but not everyone’s able to take it. Paid time off helps a lot. People are better able to take the time they need without worrying about a smaller paycheck. Employers demonstrate to their teams that they value them as whole people and recognize that time away from work is important as well.   But implementing and managing paid time off isn’t a walk in the park. If you’re thinking about offering it to your employees, above and beyond what you may (or may not) be legally required to provide, here are some things to consider: What Does the Law Say ..read more

Here are the 2023 year-end schedule and checklist for clients. The post Year-End Schedule & Checklist appeared first on PayPlus, LLC-Meredith, NH ..read more