The Importance of Background Checks When Hiring at Law Firms

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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.

Can a PEO Assist with Deferred Compensation Plans?

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So, you’ve decided that you’d like to provide your employees with a deferred compensation plan. Now you’re just wondering if your PEO can handle that. After all, there’s no sense in bringing in another vendor if all employee management tasks can be managed under one great umbrella of cost-effective and efficient services.

Here’s the good news: PEOs not only minimize the time spent on administration and operating cost, but also provide solutions related to deferred compensation! The bad news is that options may be somewhat limited. Before dismissing the idea though, know that options for individual retirement accounts (IRAs) through your PEO will be plentiful. The reason we say “limited” when referring to deferred compensation plan options is because the general term of “deferred compensation” includes pensions and employee stock options – things PEOs don’t tend to specialize in or offer.

When it comes to retirement plans though, such as 401ks, PEOs offer:

  • Expertise: Trusted advisors to help you proactively manage your employees, and do what’s in your best interest from a tax liability perspective.
  • Risk Management: Help with avoiding compliance violations or tax violations.
  • Purchasing Power: PEOs help optimize your employee benefits by pooling together employees from other companies. This results in much stronger purchasing power than you’d have as a small standalone business and you’ll likely gain attractive retirement plan options!

In conclusion, PEOs provide a team of professional HR and retirement benefits experts to keep up with the ever changing laws and reduce your liability as an employer. If you’re looking for a deferred compensation plan outside of retirement, such as company stock options, you may need to recruit the help of additional professionals. Be sure to ask us for referrals!

Also, note that when shopping for a PEO or alternative service provider you’ll likely receive deferred compensation plan options that vary from one PEO to the next. Our dedicated staff of PEO experts at Employer Solutions Plus can prepare a custom analysis of proposals for you upon request, saving you time, money, and stress!

Call today to take the guesswork out of retirement options and find the perfect service provider for your organization and its employees, whether that perfect fit is a PEO or a standalone service provider! Employer Solutions Plus: 727-698-6207.

What is Deferred Compensation?

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New to investments? Trying to arrange something that’s beneficial for both you (the employer) and your employees? You may have stumbled upon the term “deferred compensation.”

A deferred compensation plan is an arrangement between an employer and an employee in which a portion of the employee’s compensation for work performed is deferred for payment to a later date.

Your first impression may be “why on earth would anyone not want the money they’ve earned right now?” But, there are a number of benefits to deferred compensation plans deemed eligible by the IRS. The most obvious is the deferral of tax to the date at which the employee actually receives the income.
Because they are not earning the income at this exact time, there is no federal or state liability for that portion of income. Also, by deferring some of the income, the employee may fall into a different tax bracket, resulting in a lower tax rate.

Upon retirement (or the future date of choice), the employee or the surviving spouse of a deceased employee then receives a periodic payment or lump sum payment based on their contributions over the years.

Examples of deferred compensation include:

  • Pensions
  • Retirement plans
  • Employee stock options

So, how do you know if your deferred compensation plan is eligible according to the IRS? You can refer to IRC section 457, which describes plans of deferred compensation available for certain state and local governments and non-governmental entities (tax exempt under IRC 501). Or, you can rely on a tax/investment professional or Professional Employer Organization (PEO) which we’ll talk a little bit more about next week.

For immediate questions or concerns regarding your workplace retirement plans or deferred compensation models, contact us at Employer Solutions Plus.

 

The Importance of Background Checks in the Healthcare Industry

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If you’re the owner of a medical practice, you probably have an occasional nightmare of compliance violations and liability lawsuits. Protecting your business is important so it’s only natural to worry about the Department of Labor (DOL) showing up to administer and enforce its 180+ federal laws.

But, as far as protecting your business is concerned, patient protection, compliance and the DOL aren’t the only components you need to worry about. You need to start (if you haven’t already) concerning yourself with your very own personnel: the people YOU hire. We’re talking about the office manager, accountant, nurses, doctors, technicians and more; what you don’t know about them can absolutely hurt your practice!

Here’s a statistic that may alarm you: the Society for Human Resource Management reports that 50 percent of all resumes and applications contain false or overstated information. As a medical practice, how can this affect you?

Well, let’s start with education. Education is a lot more important in the healthcare industry than it is in some other industries. A nurse or doctor lying about their education most likely means that they are inexperienced and unqualified to be treating your patients! This situation could easily present itself with a damaging lawsuit regarding negligent hiring if anything were to go wrong at your practice.

A candidate or employee’s alcohol and drug history is another especially important aspect you should concern yourself with as the practice owner– especially if the person is treating or interacting with patients.

What about office managers, accountants, and others within your office? Should you be that concerned with them? In short, yes. The U.S. Department of Commerce found that employee theft is the cause of 33 percent of all business failures. As a business that likely has access to expensive equipment, various medications, prescriptions and more, the likelihood of theft within your workplace is greater than ever.

It is for the aforementioned reasons that all businesses (whether you’re in the healthcare industry or not) should always conduct a background check before hiring a new employee. It’s a quick, inexpensive step that could potentially save your practice. Extensive background checks will uncover criminal history, education confirmations, credentials, licensing, drug and alcohol history, credit reports, motor vehicle records, reference checks, court records, and much more.

For the sake of your patients, but also for the sake of your practice, you need to conduct background checks! If you’re currently working with a PEO or outsourcing to a Company that provides HR and administrative functions, be sure to take advantage of background screening services. If you’re currently in need of a background screening service company to support your practice, contact our team. Employer Solutions Plus works with numerous companies within the industry and we’re happy to point you in the right direction!

For additional resources specific to the healthcare industry, visit our HR Solutions for the Healthcare Industry section.

Temporary Staffing Vs. PEO: Know the Difference

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You’re a business owner in need of help, and you know where and when you need help, but aren’t exactly sure who to call. In the PEO industry we get calls all of the time from business owners requesting temporary staffing solutions. And it’s vice versa in the temporary staffing industry; people call them looking for the support services of a PEO.

While there are similarities among the two industries, they are actually very different solutions. Let’s take a look:

If you’re in need of HR-related services such as employment administration, recruiting, hiring and firing, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, payroll, compliance, best practices, employee training, and performance management…..

A PEO (Professional Employer Organization) is an organization that offers a cost-effective and comprehensive approach to helping you manage your company’s human resources. Unlike a standalone payroll company, or benefits company, that assists with one single component of HR, a PEO offers a full suite of HR-related services.

PEOs permit business owners to focus on their core competencies, while leaving HR and employee management to the experts! Through this “co-employment” relationship, there is a separation of human resources, employee management and liabilities that occur; your employees work for both you and the PEO. Business and day to day activities go about as usual, but the PEO assumes all administrative functions, and more importantly, shares many of the liabilities associated with your business and employees.

If you are in need of temporary personnel…

Temporary staffing on the other hand involves the placement of human resources for non-permanent employment needs. The duration of the placement may have specific parameters or be undefined. Options include full-time staffing, part-time staffing and even temp-to-hire staffing which is the placement of a candidate within a company for an evaluation period. During the evaluation, it is determined whether the candidate is suited for the position.

Temporary personnel are available in a variety of industries and positions and many temporary staffing firms actually offer access to professionals within multiple fields. Examples include labor and light industrial, food services, hospitality, admin and clerical, and yes, you guessed it: human resources.

Temporary staffing helps reduce labor costs by adding staff when necessary to hit key deadlines, assist with busy seasons, or cover vacations and other absences. Bringing on these professionals also saves business owners a lot of administrative hours, as they are almost always insured by the staffing company and on that particular company’s payroll. No need for adding individuals on to your own payroll, adding them to your insurance plan, or setting them up as an actual employee of yours.

While temporary staffing agencies can provide HR personnel capable of helping with employee administration, hiring, firing and training, they do not provide the technology or complimentary services associated with HR including workers’ compensation insurance, employee benefits, payroll, and compliance. If you’re still in need of all of these complimentary components, a PEO is likely the better option, as it is a full suite solution.

To learn more about PEOs and other forms of outsourced HR solutions, follow our blog each week, or contact us directly at Employer Solutions Plus!

What Will My Employees Think of a PEO?

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The word “co-employment” occasionally scares business owners. Will I be giving up control of my own workplace? Will points of contact and communication methods change? What will my employees think of a PEO “stepping in”?

These are common concerns and as a business owner you certainly have the right to be concerned! While the term “co-employment” may sound a bit scary, let’s review a few things first!

You do not lose control over your business in a co-employment relationship. You will retain ownership of the company and control over its day to day operations.
On paper, as co-employers, you contractually share or allocate employer responsibilities and liabilities. The PEO will likely take responsibility for administration, payroll, taxes and benefits. Because a PEO may also be responsible for workers compensation insurance, they may want to focus on improving worksite safety and ensuring your company is continually in compliance.

We always recommend strong communication with employees at the beginning of a new PEO/co-employment relationship. It’s not a difficult transition for anyone within the workplace, but clear communication always promotes a positive working environment.

Many employees would never realize there was actually a PEO operating behind the scenes if it wasn’t for their paycheck. Because PEOs take over payroll responsibilities, the checks your employees receive will likely have the PEO’s name on it.

The only other change they will notice is the number of advantages they now have because your company is associated with a PEO. These advantages include: streamlined payroll and claims processing, robust benefits, better communication and even improved job satisfaction through clear expectations, easy-to-read employee handbooks, and the fact that they’ve got experienced professionals on their side to handle employment-related issues.

If all fears are finally aside and you’re now ready to make the switch to a PEO, call Employer Solutions Plus at 727-698-6207. We can also answer any additional questions or concerns that you may have!

The Importance of HR Offloading in the Healthcare Industry

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Last week we discussed the importance of talent management software and how much time and money it can save you by recruiting the right talent. Not to mention the advantages of being able to seamlessly manage that talent! But, we also touched upon the need for multiple HR-related solutions.

Too often we see the owners of growing medical practices trying to wear all of the hats, when in reality the only hat they should be wearing is the “doctor hat!” You know the importance of focusing on your patients and providing them with the utmost care, and we know the importance of being able to let go of the reigns and offload HR.

Here are just 3 reasons to “let go”…

  1. Outsourcing HR is an important cost-cutting measure: If you need to cut back on costs or even staff, you certainly cannot let go your practice’s medical professionals – you need them to treat patients! Outsourcing HR is a great way to ensure business still runs smoothly, and your patients remain entirely satisfied. Even if you are not experiencing a staff cutback, outsourcing HR will permit many of the employees within the office (including the office manager) to operate more efficiently and redefine their roles – they can refocus their efforts on growing the practice and recruiting new patients.
  2. Headache-Free Compliance: You’re an expert in medicine, not employment law! Many medical practice owners choose to engage a PEO or an HRO for the sole purpose of eliminating headaches and ensuring employer compliance. In addition to the many other benefits PEOs and HR companies provide, PEOs protect – against costly lawsuits, against compliance failure, and against preventable workplace mistakes/accidents.
  3. Technology: Employee management has its fair share of technology. From source of hire metrics to compliance-smart time tracking systems and payroll – there’s a lot to utilize and a lot to manage.

    Leaving these functions up to HR experts permits you to focus on your core competencies.

Need some help getting started? At Employer Solutions Plus, we represent the “best of” in HR Offloading, PEO Strategies, Payroll Only Solutions, Health Insurance Options / Employee Benefits and Ancillary Benefit Programs.

Contact us to get started!

The Importance of Talent Management Software in the Healthcare Industry

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Strep throat in room 4, a sprained ankle in room 6, a nose bleed in 7, and a sick infant in 3. If you’re the owner of a medical practice, talent management is probably the last thing on your mind today. However, without it you risk having a practice that lacks quality care.

Talent management software is an important tool for every industry, but especially important for those within the healthcare industry. As doctors, every minute you have with a patient counts. You don’t have time for administrative and hiring headaches, do you?

Talent management software helps healthcare organizations acquire, develop, assess and retain the best workforce possible.  This maximizes the quality and efficiency of patient care by constantly recruiting team members that are engaged, competent and experienced. Oh – And cost effective!

Just some of the capabilities of talent management software include new applicant tracking, on-boarding, performance management, reference checking, physician recruiting and candidate sourcing. Some software programs even have the ability to manage, track and report on compliance, ensuring that your practice (and employees) operate with as minimal risk as possible.

The want and need for talent management software within this industry is clear. But, is it affordable? At Employer Solutions Plus, we often recommend bundling the benefits of talent management software into a co-employment relationship with a PEO. Knowing that you need multiple vendors surrounding your practice (i.e. a talent management software provider, health insurance, workers compensation, and payroll), it only makes sense to bundle these services under one employee management umbrella: a PEO.

By relying on one service provider for all of your outsourcing needs, you’re able to limit the amount of time you spend working outside of your core competencies, but you can also significantly decrease the amount of time you’d normally spend interacting with vendors.

For more information on talent management software and other employee-related management solutions, contact Employer Solutions Plus. We’ll help you determine which areas of your business require the most attention, and whether or not those areas are a good fit for a single vendor or a PEO.

When is the Best Time To Switch to a PEO?

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Whether you’re a company looking to engage in a PEO contract for the first time, or a company that already works with a PEO but is looking to make a switch, timing is everything!

It is a common misunderstanding that PEO contracts need to begin on January 1. If companies wait for the next calendar year, they could waste months overpaying for services, experiencing dissatisfaction, or outgrowing a vendor.

However there are a few red flags that are worth paying attention to, so that money is not lost or wasted when making a switch. Here are just a few:

  • Payroll Tax Restarts: You must be careful to avoid payroll tax restarts. Sometimes the amount of money put toward State Unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, and other taxes to date can be forfeited.
  • Health Insurance: With a health insurance switch, the amount of deductible that employees have paid to date with another health insurance provider can be forfeited. While this won’t necessarily be an upset for you as the business owner, but it may result in several disgruntled employees!
  • Anything Paid in Advance or Deposits Made: Did you make a deposit on workers compensation insurance? Do you pay any insurance premiums one month in advance? These are important things to look at so that you don’t have an overlap of services (or costs) when starting with a new provider.

While the above mentioned items are worth paying attention to, they aren’t worth scaring you away from a new PEO contract. Did you know that some PEOs offer credits for taxes already paid? That’s right, even if you have put money toward SUTA or other taxes, you can be “reimbursed” by your new PEO. Employer Solutions Plus can identify the most convenient (but also the most cost-effective) time frame for making the switch! Need some help? Contact us today!

 

5 Reminders for Avoiding Wrongful Termination

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Terminating an employee can be an awkward (and stressful) task. But, as a business owner you’ve got more important things to worry about: compliance.

As if the need to terminate someone wasn’t a difficult enough situation in itself, a wrongful termination claim can quickly take things from bad to worse…a lot worse!

We remind all employers to run down the following checklist before pursuing termination:

  1. Documentation: Do you have the proper documentation to support your credibility and the need for termination? All past incidents, behavioral issues, and performance issues should be documented within the employee’s file.
  2. Warnings: So, you’ve documented incidents – does your employee know that these incidents were documented? Were they given a verbal or written warning prior to termination? Even if it was a verbal warning, the details of the verbal warning need to be documented.
  3. Private Room: The termination meeting should be scheduled in a room or private area separate from other employees. This will help avoid drawing the attention of other employees and will reduce the likelihood of interruption, but more importantly it will not risk creating a situation where the employee leaves feeling ashamed, mistreated, or embarrassed in front of co-workers. In addition to securing a private location, scheduling a termination meeting at the end of the day will ensure that the employee does not need to pack up their things and exit in front of others.
  4. Witness: Never terminate someone on your own. Always have another person from HR or management accompany you. This will eliminate any issues that may arise concerning his or her word against yours.
  5. Consistency: Have you fired someone in the past for this particular reason? Have you been consistent in enforcing the “rules” outlined within your employee handbook? You cannot fire one employee and keep another one on staff that has violated the same rule(s).

For more information on hiring and firing, visit our hiring and firing section within this blog. If you have any questions, contact us directly at Employer Solutions Plus!