How Law Firms Stay in Compliance

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As law firms grow, so do the complexities of managing employees. Hiring more employees equates to more time spent making sure the practice is in compliance with the ever-changing list of employment laws. Managing compliance can interfere with the precious time needed to focus on your practice or an important case. You’re very busy practicing law and defending your clients, but who is taking care of you?

Law firms that want peace of mind surrounding compliance choose to engage in the co-employment relationship, which also happens to save them time and money! In the co-employment business model, the PEO’s job is to ensure compliance, but it’s also in their best interest to perform this service as best as possible.

Why? Well, under the co-employment relationship, employees are co-employed – which means that the PEO is sharing the risk of managing your employees. If your firm is slapped with an EPLI claim, this becomes the PEOs situation as well.

PEOs’ best practices include HR and compliance audits to prevent as many claims as possible. At the onset of a PEO relationship and periodically thereafter, the PEO will perform a complete audit of your firm’s policies and procedures as it pertains to hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, workplace safety, employee training, and more.

It is not uncommon for PEOs to also provide law firm partners or hiring managers with management training courses to review best practices, employee relations, employee communications and various employment-related laws that need to be abided by.

Best of all, PEOs provide ongoing HR support inside and outside of the office, especially concerning the management of faulty claims. If an employee of yours makes a claim, it is up to the PEO to fight that claim in court… PEOs manage and fight all types of claims such as unemployment claims or workers compensation claims.

For more information on PEOs or to determine if a PEO is the right solution for your firm, please contact us.

Please Help. I Hate Payroll Administration!

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As companies grow, so does their payroll. What may have started out as a nice easy process of distributing checks once per week could now be a nightmare following the hiring of more employees. You aren’t alone.

Payroll administration is a frustrating and often confusing area of HR management, especially for small to medium sized business owners that do not have a full time payroll administrator on staff. Are you (or your HR personnel) capable of managing the following? Do you have the time?

    • Support for hourly and salary based employees.
    • Proving a variety of payment methods (ie payroll checks, direct deposit, account transfers)
    • Local, state and federal government paperwork
    • Tax reporting
    • Tax changes administration
    • Year end W2s
    • Compliance
    • Employee data management
    • Vacation time/paid time off
    • Sick days
    • Time clock management

These are all basic functions of payroll administration companies, and even professional employer organizations (payroll administration is often built into the co-employment solution). Employer Solutions Plus is skilled at determining which payroll outsourcing solution is the best fit for your company – whether that is a payroll only solution, or a comprehensive full suite HR management solution such as a PEO.

We represent multiple providers in each product category– This allows us the flexibility to customize a cost effective solution to meet the individual needs of our clients. Please contact us today to learn more about payroll administration solutions. When we find your match, we’ll provide you with a flexible integration process with minimal to no distraction.

How Do I Know Which PEO Is Right For Me?

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So, you’ve decided that the co-employment business model and HR outsourcing is right for you… but according to NAPEO (National Association of Professional Employer Organizations), there are about 700 PEOs operating in 50 states….where does one start with that big of a selection?

Employer Solutions Plus offers the following guidelines to companies considering the co-employment relationship:

1. Compile an assessment of workplace needs and wants surrounding employee management and risk management.
2. Determine your employee benefits needs.

3. Align the PEO’s capabilities, services, and benefits with your exact needs. Are they capable of meeting your goals?

4. Verifications:

  • Verify the length of time that
    the PEO Vendor has been in business.
  • Are risk management practices independently certified by the Certification Institute?
  • Are operational, financial and ethical practices accredited by Employer Service Assurance Corporation (ESAC)?
  • Is the PEO a member of NAPEO?
  • Does the PEO meet all state requirements?

5. Ask the PEO for client and professional references.

6. Check the PEO’s financial background, including bank and credit references. Ask the PEO to prove that it pays its own payroll taxes and insurance premiums in a timely manner.

7. Is the PEO fully insured or partially self-funded (concerning benefits)? If third party, is their insurance carrier authorized to do business in your state?

8. Reinforce credibility through personal contact; request a personal presentation by the PEO.

9. Review the service agreement very carefully. Who is responsible for each type of liability? Key words to look for are “responsible for.” This means that the PEO assumes all cost and liability associated with the action. Words such as “assist with” or “consult with” means that the business owner assumes liability.

10 Will you be able to cancel the contract if better rates come along or terms of the contract are not met? We understand the 10 steps above are a lot to take in, and it’s especially difficult to find the time for this process when you’ve got your own day-to-day activities and clients to worry about. At Employer Solutions Plus, we manage PEO shopping for you, and present you with the best possible options after analyzing numerous PEOs on the aforementioned criteria.

Clients of Employer Solutions Plus save themselves time, money, and stress. Call today to take the guesswork out of the PEO selection process: 727-698-6207.

Risk Management with a PEO

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Imagine the perfect world, where business owners could eliminate costly workers’ compensation insurance and audits, rid the workplace of all safety hazards, and effortlessly stay in compliance at all times … Unfortunately, so long as there is a dynamic working environment, there is always room for human error, uncontrollable factors, and risk.

However, there is good news. By partnering with a PEO, this burden is lightened in many ways. PEOs help businesses manage their risk more effectively. Through the co-employment relationship, the PEO shares many of the liabilities associated with your business and employees.

Here are some examples of PEO Services that help minimize risk:

  • Designing a workplace safety program
  • Organizing and conducting safety training
  • Creating and distributing safety manuals and resources
  • Managing workers’ compensation insurance (and securing better rates, too!)
  • Managing claims for employees injured on the job
  • Minimizing financial risk through streamlined payroll administration and access to better technologies
  • Ensuring your business is in compliance – especially OSHA compliance!
  • Managing internal threats such as EPLI claims
  • And more!

As you see above, PEO services extend far beyond your basic HR solutions. They have detailed plans to minimize risk and provide increased protection from costly lawsuits and fines. For high risk industries, many PEOs even provide access to “Pay As You Go” workers compensation programs.

Best of all, the PEO relationship delivers peace of mind. With risk management taken care of, you can focus on your core competencies to maintain and grow your bottom line. Call Employer Solutions Plus at 727-698-6207 for a complimentary consultation today. A PEO may be the right solution for you!