What Happens If My PEO Is Sold?

/in , /by

Just like every industry and all types of businesses, sometimes PEOs experience buy-outs or mergers. If your PEO was just sold or is under new management, you’re probably wondering “where does this leave me?”

In most instances, the transition (if properly planned for and managed) from one PEO to another will be painless. However, this doesn’t mean you should sit back, relax, and fail to consider your options. It’s important to review all details regarding the new PEO in advance, as this timeframe is the PERFECT time to shop around.

Here are just a few things to consider…

  • Will the new relationship result in price changes or additional fees in the upcoming months?
  • Will the transitional period require all new documents for W4s, employment applications, I-9s, benefits and enrollment? If so, this can be very time consuming and inconvenient – if you can’t avoid this, you may as well shop around and see what your options are!
  • Will relationships change or will you continue to work with the same personnel you’ve grown to trust and appreciate?

The reality is that your new PEO set-up may not be the best fit or may not have the best pricing structure for your organization’s needs. If you’d like to explore your options, contact Employer Solutions Plus. Our team provides expert strategies in PEO selection as well as PEO transition.

The Differences Between a PEO and an ASO

/in , /by

If you’re on the hunt for a service provider to manage the administration of payroll, human resources, benefits and workers compensation you’ve likely stumbled upon two options: a PEO and an ASO.

At first glance, they appear to have the same business model – so what’s the difference?

PEO:

A relationship with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) is a co-employment relationship, meaning that your PEO will become the employer on record for tax-related purposes. Because many companies may be utilizing the same PEO that you are, the PEO on paper probably has many more employees than you do, which provides you with stronger purchasing power when shopping for health benefits, retirement options, and other employee-related benefits.

Liability is shared through the co-employment relationship as well – which is a very attractive benefit for business owners continually concerned with payroll, workers compensation, risk management and EPLI. PEOs work harder to keep your organization within compliance standards, because at the end of the day any issue is their issue too!

ASO:

An Administrative Services Organization (ASO) is a very similar organization in that many of them offer the administration of payroll, HR, benefits, workers comp and more. However, there’s one major difference: a relationship with an ASO is NOT a co-employment relationship. Employees remain your employees.

Because employees are not employees of the ASO, employers have the ability to retain their own employee benefits, or have their ASO shop out and manage options for them. Without the purchasing power of a large organization with lots of employees on your side, you may have higher rates on services such as payroll, benefits, and workers compensation.

While ASOs lack some of the attractive benefits associated with PEOs, they tend to have administrative fees (per employee, per year) that are significantly less than PEOs – because the employer is only paying for the outsourced support of various employee management functions and the ASO is not assuming much liability.

Ultimately, selecting the right organization comes down to what your particular organizational needs are. Not every company is a good fit for a PEO, and not every company is a good fit for an ASO. At Employer Solutions Plus we represent vendors within both categories. After an evaluation of your company’s wants and needs, we then present the options that will work best for you.

To learn more, contact our team.

The Importance of Background Checks When Hiring at Law Firms

/in , /by

Earlier in the year we spoke about ways to recruit and retain top performing attorneys. Perhaps you just recently interviewed the attorney of your dreams and can’t wait to make them an offer for joining your practice! But wait just one moment; don’t jump the gun!

Do you know the importance of performing a background check on your new employee? This quick and easy step could save the “face” of your firm. As attorneys, we know that reputation is everything. Therefore, it’s important to know everything and anything about the person who’s ready to represent your law firm.

An investigative check will reveal whether or not this attorney has been disciplined, is in the process of losing law licenses and the related right to practice law, his/her history with the state bar and associations, whether they’re highly rated in their area of expertise, surveys conducted in the local community, quality of work, ethics and more!!

If the candidate is a new attorney straight out of school, a background check to confirm the candidate’s degree, GPA, academic track record, associations, and more is equally important. As we learned in an earlier entry, 50 percent of all resumes and applications contain false or overstated information (according to the Society for Human Resource Management). Guess what? This includes attorneys!

Reputation is everything when it comes to practicing law. Conducting a background check will ensure that you’re hiring a reputable and well respected attorney, and save you from the costs (and headaches) associated with termination at a later date.

Remember, before conducting a background check you must always obtain an applicant’s written authorization. Be wary of the attorney that “forgets” or declines to sign an application permitting you to move forward with the screening. If you, as the employer, make a decision based on information found in the background check, you must provide the applicant with written notification. This is called an adverse action notice and it must be accompanied by a copy of the report.

Most attorneys specialize within one or two areas of law. If employment law and compliance is not your particular area, be sure to contact Employer Solutions Plus, your Professional Employer Organization, or a compliance specialist that can assist you with background checks, and the hiring process.

For additional resources specific to law firms, visit our HR Solutions for Law Firms section.