By nature, the human resources function of an organization is saturated with change. For seasoned, well-informed human resources professionals who are dedicated to their area of expertise,it is difficult to keep up with ever changing legislative action,regulation, and trends. For the majority of small businesses who do not have a dedicated human resources department, keeping up is extremely taxing. A few key areas that warrant focus are mentioned below as well as the resources available to support your business.
1.Regardless of the size of your business, did you know that you must have an employment license to hire? The SC Illegal Immigration Reform Act must be followed in addition to the federal I9 process. Often businesses wrongly believe that need not participate unless they hire illegal or foreign born workers, but even small business is not exempt. The penalty involves a fine and the inability to employ anyone if the license is revoked! South Carolina has hired additional auditors and they are working hard to ensure compliance. The required process for state and federal compliance is clearly explained on the following websites:
http://www.llr.state.sc.us/Immigration/
http://www.dhs.gov
2. Did you know that “comp time” is not available to private employers? Logically, many firms allow employees time off to compensate them after a long work week. This practice violates wage and hour regulations if the employer uses this time to compensate the employee for hours over 40. Unless the employee’s position is exempt from wage and hour laws, the employee must be paid overtime at time and one half for the hours over 40 that they work in the week. Did you know that all wages, including bonuses, must be included in this calculation? A great deal of information regarding overtime and other wage and hour provisions is available at the following Department of Labor site: http://www.dol.gov/whd
Consult your labor attorney if you have questions regarding complicated situations.
3. Concerned about discrimination claims? According to the Society for Human Resource Management,
the majority of discrimination claims in 2010 were based on retaliation. Most business owners understand basic discrimination laws. A key point: it is not only important to handle all employee complaint with respect, but it is important to consult your attorney before taking any type of employment action affecting someone who has filed a complaint.
4. Are you familiar with “protected concerted activity”? The National Labor Relations Board asserts that an employee’s negative comments on a Facebook page were protected under law. The decision is not final but warrants caution for employers who may have previously felt they had the right to loyalty and positive representation from their employees via social media.
5. Many employers will see a significant increase in federal and state unemployment taxes. The problem is two-fold: our state fund has been depleted for a variety of reasons and must be rebuilt; additionally, S.C. (one of only three states currently) must repay the federal government for the dollars borrowed. Interesting fact, did you know that a portion of the dollars employers pay to the S.C. unemployment is actually sent to the federal government? In other words, the fund is truly not 100-percent available to our state to manage. Many small businesses are concerned that these increases will severely affect the ability of businesses to increase hiring, therefore, the result could be negative rather than positive.
The economy certainly seems to be on the road to recovery and yet businesses need to remain vigilant regarding legislation which could affect their profitability. Heathcare regulation, unemployment costs—both state and federal, income taxes, and insurance costs are a few areas to watch. Your legislators need to hear from you so that they understand how proposed changes will affect your business.
