Compliance
42% of medium and small businesses have negative feelings about their compliance management practices. Learn how to get the upper hand on this complex topic.
Compliance is a moving target. Just when you think you’ve got everything under control, the rules change and the target shifts. How your organization manages compliance risks is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a leader. Are you ready to provide data and reports if required by a federal or state agency? Or will your organization be subject to penalties and fines? Paycor builds federal, state and local compliance and tax expertise into our platform, which is automatically updated, so our customers never have to worry.

How Long to Keep Payroll Records
Running a business, you know that compliance isn’t just about being compliant—you also need to prove it. You never know when the IRS, the DOL or the EEOC will demand to see your paperwork, which is why it’s so important to retain payroll records. To make things more complicated, each agency has its own rules for which documents you have to keep and for how long. The good news is, you don’t have to buy more filing cabinets. HR software can automatically store everything you need, with the added benefit of simplifying the whole payroll process. Why You Need to Retain Payroll Records At a federal level, you’re keeping payroll records primarily for three agencies: The IRS The Department of Labor (Wage and Hour Division) The EEOC These...
Terminating Employee Checklist
Letting an employee go is never easy—but when it happens, no matter the root cause, companies have to act with professionalism and follow correct procedure. It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also essential for compliance. To help you make sure everything is done by the book, Paycor is providing a checklist of the right actions to take. Download Termination Checklist How to Conduct an Involuntary Termination An involuntary termination can never be taken lightly, and before making the decision official you’ll want to confirm with your legal team or advisors that you’re following the right process. If the termination is the result of poor performance or disciplinary issues, the employee may well have been issued warnings of increasing...
PTO Payout Laws By State
Most companies have formal paid time off policies. Regardless of whether you call it vacation time, sick time, furlough, PTO, PDO or some combination of the above, you should pay attention to states’ laws. This is a hot topic, with so many employees delaying using their accrued time off over the course of the pandemic. Considering the unusual circumstances, many companies have rewritten their PTO policies to allow unused days to rollover into 2021. Does your state require employers to payout PTO? Surrendering your terminated employees’ accrued and unused vacation time isn’t subject to federal law, but it’s important to pay attention to states’ laws since regulation is under their purview. If your company has locations in multiple states,...
Employee Safety During COVID-19: Compliance Toolkit
Vaccines are coming to the rescue, but we’re not out of the woods yet. HR leaders can’t afford to take their eye off the ball when it comes to employee safety and compliance. Now’s the time to think about creating a vaccine policy that works for your organization, and it’s not too late to implement workplace testing. If an employee does test positive for COVID-19, you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to offer the right information and support to your whole team. Paycor is offering this free compliance toolkit, including customizable letter templates to use when you: Create a mandatory vaccine policy Implement workplace testing Inform your team that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19
Demotion Letter Template
There’s nothing better than seeing employees thrive, but setbacks and slips in performance do happen. One way to address performance problems is a demotion. Sometimes, it’s necessary to take a step back before you can take two steps forward. Download Demotion Letter Template When is a Demotion Necessary? In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be demotions. They are a sign something’s wrong: it could be that an employee has failed to respond to a performance improvement plan or they could just be disengaged. A demotion is the last stop before termination. If you believe the person has potential and is worth investing in, then a demotion might be the best way forward. Demotions are risky, though. You could end up with an employee who is even...
Maximum PTO Accrual Letter
Encouraging employees to use their vacation days can feel strange. After all, nobody wants to leave themselves under-staffed and the rest of their team over-worked. On the other hand, what if employees rarely ever, or even never, take time off? That’s been a question facing business owners this year, as vacation plans were delayed, then cancelled, and PTO built up like never before.One problem is, PTO payout laws can turn unused PTO into an unwanted financial liability. There’s also a risk of schedule chaos down the line as everyone tries to use their days up at once. Most worrying of all is that employees who go too long without a break, even by choice, risk ending up disengaged and burned out. Download Sample Maximum PTO Accrual Letter...
Webinar: How to Meet 2021 Anti-Harassment Training & Policy Requirements - 1/28 @11AM ET
This session is eligible for 1 HRCI and 1 SHRM credit.2021 has arrived. Have you trained your employees on anti-harassment requirements?Join our webinar for the latest updates on new and pending anti-harassment legislation and learn best practices for meeting (and exceeding) the mandates within your organization.Topics included are: - New training and policy requirements - Pending legislation - Key deadlines and effective dates for 2021 - How you can meet the mandates in 2021 Speaker: Jill AlbrechtJill Albrecht is a labor and employment law attorney, as well as a compliance subject matter expert. She is also a former shareholder at Littler, the world’s largest labor and employment law firm. Jill regularly conducts anti-harassment and...![Employee Reimbursement Form [Template]](https://paycor.imgix.net/ample_admin/attachments/files/000/037/451/screen_xs/employee-reimbursement-form.png?ixlib=rails-2.1.4)
Employee Reimbursement Form [Template]
Expense reimbursement—whether you’re making the request or receiving it—is one of those business tasks that nobody likes, but which there’s no way to avoid. Whatever kind of expenses we’re talking, it’s important that there’s an efficient and reliable process in place—or else you’ll face disgruntled employees and compliance headaches. Download Employee Reimbursement Form An Efficient Expense Reimbursement Process is EssentialThere’s many reason an employee might need to claim expenses. These are just some of the categories: Business Travel If employees are required to travel for work, they’ll likely have expenses for accommodation, travel and food costs. Not just for them, either, but perhaps also for clients and customers. Business...
Payroll Taxes vs Income Taxes: Everything You Need to Know
If you’re running a business, you need be an expert on a lot of topics. You need to be an expert seller, an expert marketer, expert coach…and so on. What you don’t really want to be is an expert on payroll taxes. That’s why we highly recommend working with an HR provider who can take this burden off your plate (here’s exactly what we mean by “burden”). Taxes in general can be confusing, and business tax even more so. Here’s a quick refresher on one of the basics: businesses are responsible for withholding both payroll and income taxes. There are no excuses for mixing up these up, so here’s a mini refresher course. Payroll Taxes vs Income Taxes: An Introduction Payroll taxes are paid for by both an employer and an employee, and go toward...
Employment at Will Laws by State
Unlike most nations, the US labor law heavily favors employers. Employment is generally ‘at will’, and can therefore be terminated at any time. There is usually no burden on employers to prove “just cause”—they simply have to avoid discriminatory or illegal action. However, many states do apply important exemptions.To visualize these difference, we’ve created a map detailing at-will employment laws across the US.Here are at-will employment rules by state broken down in a helpful table. State Public Policy Exemption Covenant of Good Faith Implied Contract Exception Alabama No Yes Yes Alaska Yes Yes Yes Arizona Yes Yes Yes Arkansas Yes Yes Yes California Yes Yes Yes Colorado Yes Yes Yes Connecticut Yes Yes Yes Delaware Yes Yes No Florida...
Emergency COVID Leave Request Form
Businesses are working overtime to create safe workplaces, but when a COVID surge hits your community, there’s only so much you can do. Employees may suddenly require time off—to isolate, care for their children or quarantine, if instructed to do so by local authorities.In these cases, employees will qualify for Emergency Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA, as established back in March by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Download COVID-Related Leave Request Form Emergency Leave for COVID The FFCRA applies to companies with 500 employees or fewer, and offers: Extended Paid Sick Leave Two weeks (up to 80 hours) at 100% of regular salary (up to $511 daily and $5,110 total) if an employee is … Quarantined (ordered by...
Employee COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy Template
UPDATE DECEMBER 18: This article has been updated in accordance with the latest EEOC guidance.Employers have a responsibility for the health and safety of their employees, but is it their place to enforce mandatory vaccinations? And is that even legal? Every year, employers ask these very questions and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Usually, the answer is “it depends”, but pandemics are different. Safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 have arrived and the EEOC have confirmed that employers can make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for employees, with some restrictions. Now is the time to think about creating an employee vaccination policy—here’s everything you need to know. Download COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Template Can...
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What Compliance Means for Your Organization
Do you spend too much or too little time on compliance? The IRS estimates U.S. businesses spend a collective 2.8 billion hours a year on tax compliance alone. Add in the Department of Labor’s requirements for overtime and minimum wage as well as the Affordable Care Act’s tracking and reporting regulations and you’ve only just scratched the surface of compliance.
Naturally, being compliant is going to mean something different depending on the industry in which you work. Are you a medical facility who can’t allow licensing to lapse or perhaps a manufacturer with concerns about Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) law? What sort of training do you have in place to prevent employment discrimination and a subsequent EEOC lawsuit?
The right HR partner can offer your organization expert advice on how to mitigate compliance risk. Learn what potential violations should be on your radar and how to avoid them as well as how to maintain compliance through the employee lifecycle.