The latest news relevant to you and your business
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
We encourage our Prestige community to take their mental health seriously, and that’s why we offer our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as an additional service. Through this service, you and your employees can access EAP counselors who can help you with various needs, including marital or family relationships, legal and financial problems, stress management, alcohol and substance abuse, crisis management, and more.
If your company is already signed up for EAP, you can log in using your company name as your username and password. You can ask your HRBP for more information about National EAP services, and you can visit their website below to learn more and get started.
Coming Soon: The Prestige Pulse for Your Employees
If you prefer to have your employees removed from The Pulse mailing list this season, click the button below. The deadline to opt out is May 26, 2023. The Pulse newsletter will be delivered on June 6, 2023.
The Prestige Pulse will include:
- Reminders on where to find important information
- How to access the Employee Resource Center
- FAQs
- Invitation to MassMutual webinar
HR CORNER
Your SUTA Rate
When an unemployment claim comes through for your company, PrestigePEO receives it and must respond to all state inquiries by the requested deadline. PrestigePEO will contact you for any information we do not have on file. If all the requested information is not provided to the state in their allotted timeframe, the state will evaluate the claim based solely on the information they have been provided. This may result in a claim approval for your terminated employee, which may not be the action you wanted to take. Your State Unemployment Tax Account (SUTA) rate directly correlates to your unemployment claims experience. Not responding to state inquiries and/or a high volume of claims may increase your chance of a higher tax rate. Therefore, it is very important that you submit accurate and thorough records of every termination in PrestigePRO. Please also loop in your HRBP as terminations arise so that we know a claim might be coming soon. This will help us respond to unemployment claims faster, which will help maintain a more favorable SUTA rate.
Reminder: New Locations
We have developed an enhanced New Location Form to support your company when setting up a new location within PrestigePRO. Our New Location Form determines if an employee should be considered a telecommuter or work state/home state employee. We have enriched our form by providing details on specific criteria that must be met for either scenario (Telecommuter or Work State/Home State). Completing this new enhanced form will ensure you and your employees comply with state business and withholding tax regulations.
You’ll need to complete this form when:
- Hiring remote employees
- Remote employees move to another state
- You open a new office (in an existing state or new state)
- Your office address has changed and is in a new state
Once you know that you’ll need a new location established, please work with your HRBP to complete an updated form. We must receive a completed New Location Form to process your request. Due to regulatory requirements, it takes five (5) business days to add a new location, and we cannot backdate a location.
Does Workers’ Comp. Cover Remote Workers?
If your company offers remote or hybrid work schedules, as many companies do, you may wonder if your Workers’ Compensation policy covers employees working from home. Typically, yes! Employers are, therefore, responsible for providing a safe work environment for both their on-site workers and their remote and hybrid workers.
The burden of proof is usually on the employee to show that the injury was work-related or sustained while performing work duties. However, even though the employer cannot control a remote employee’s remote work environment, courts have still found the employer liable for injuries. Typical injuries that can occur include trips, slips, falls, and cumulative injuries like carpal tunnel.
Employers should do the following:
- Create a telecommuting policy that specifies your expectations for employees while working remotely. Contact your HRBP for help with this policy!
- Establish guidelines for a home office set-up. Consider providing a stipend for ergonomic needs such as office chairs, wrist rests, and other items that can prevent repetitive motion injuries.
- Where possible, set fixed work hours and break periods for remote workers, as this can help to establish whether an injury occurred during work periods.
If you have any further questions, please reach out to your HRBP.
COMPLIANCE
New York City Artificial Intelligence Bias Law Enforcement Begins on July 5, 2023
NYC Local Law 144 of 2021, which regulates the use of automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) to screen candidates for employment and promotion decisions, is scheduled for enforcement on July 5, 2023.
If you are a New York City employer that uses AEDTs for hiring and promotions, please be aware of this AI bias law deadline. A link to the local law can be found here.
If you have any questions regarding your screening processes or AEDTs, please contact your HRBP.
PrestigePEO is now offering a special enrollment opportunity for our voluntary benefit options! These include life insurance, identity theft protection, pet insurance, home & auto insurance, and discount/reward programs.
MassMutual whole life insurance is a unique product offering a $100,000 guaranteed issue. It is fully portable, and its rate is locked in for the entire length of the policy. Not only can you protect your loved ones, but you can also access funds in a time of great need. We are proud to partner with MassMutual and offer you an informative webinar series to learn more.
These webinars will be offered in a weekly series. The series will start on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, and will run every Wednesday through June 14, 2023, at 10 am.
PrestigePEO is excited to celebrate National PEO Week, which takes place from May 21-27! We will be attending NAPEO’s Capitol Summit in Washington, D.C. This event will allow leading PEOs like ours to meet with lawmakers and educate them on the critical role that PEOs play in supporting businesses across the country. PrestigePEO is always happy to offer competitive employee benefits, efficient administrative support, and helpful HR resources. We will continue to make strides and grow our clients’ businesses to new heights.
To celebrate, we’re giving Starbucks gift cards to the first ten people who leave us a Google review! Click the link below to leave your review, then email marketingteam@prestigepeo.com to claim your gift card.
Feedback
We’d love to hear from you. Whether you have an idea for a future newsletter, or if you’re interested in being a podcast guest, let us know! Additionally, if you’d like more information on our services or programs, we can certainly accommodate that as well. Email marketingteam@prestigepeo.com today!
