SharedHR 8.0 - February 25, 2010
We are pleased to announce the release of SharedHR 8.0, which reflects our commitment to providing continuously updated HR compliance information and resources to assist our clients in managing their HR function. SharedHR 8.0 went live late in the day on February 25, 2010, and, as is our practice, resulted in no service interruptions on the site. We encourage all SharedHR Administrators to login to SharedHR and see what's new.
With the start of the New Year, SharedHR Administrators are provided with important state-specific and federal compliance updates that impact policies in the SharedHR Handbook and various forms and documents in the SharedHR Library.
Compliance & Content Updates - 2010
New and Updated Forms and Documents in the Document Library
Given ongoing changes in state and federal laws, we have posted many new or updated forms and documents in the SharedHR Document Library. In the Manage Library Documents section of SharedHR, documents with a 2/25/10 date in either the Last Review Date or Last Upd Date column indicate that the SharedHR model is either new, or has been recently reviewed for sufficiency and/or updated. You can review new or updated versions of documents by clicking on the title.
Documents with ared date in the Last Upd Date column indicate that the SharedHR model is new or has been more recently updated than your current version. If you use a customized version (i.e. not a SharedHR standard document), you can review our new or updated model to see what differences exist that may need to be added to your current model.
Please see below for a list of forms and documents that have either been added to or updated in the SharedHR Library. (Please note that these forms and documents may or may not be relevant to you depending on the states for which you have purchased SharedHR compliance):
- In the Benefits section:
- Model Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Notice (New)
- In the Compliance & Training section:
- Alternative Workweek Schedule Checklist
- Alternative Workweek Schedule Proposal and Disclosure
- Results of an Alternative Workweek Election Letter
- Sample Alternative Workweek Agreement (New)
- Common Law Factors
- Emergency Phone Numbers
- Employer Statutory Compliance Summary
- Family Rights Act
- Harassment and Discrimination in Employment
- Industrial Wage Orders 1-17
- Job Safety & Health Protection
- Minimum Wage Notice
- Payday Notice
- Pregnancy Disability Leave
- Report of Independent Contractor
- Summary Tests for Exempt v. Non-Exempt Status
- Time Off for Voting Notice
- Whistleblowers Are Protected
- Workers' Compensation Notice
- In the Leaves of Absence section:
- Checklist for Family and Medical Leaves of Absences
- Disability Analysis and Accommodation Checklist
- Employee Rights and Responsibilities under FMLA
- How To File An SDI Claim
- Integration of Family and Medical Leave Entitlements
- Model FMLA Military Family Leave Letter
- Paid Family Leave Pamphlet
- Request A Claim Form For Paid Family Leave Benefits
- SDI Provisions
- State Disability Insurance Claim Form
- In the Payroll section:
- IRS Form W-5 - Earned Income Credit
- IRS Publication 15 - Employer's Tax Guide
- Pay Requirements by State
- In the Recruiting & Hiring section:
- Application for Employment
- Arbitration Agreement
- Confidentiality and Proprietary Rights Agreement
- New Hire Reporting Form
- For Your Benefit - Unemployment Insurance
- Interview Guide
- New Hire Checklist
- Paid Family Leave Pamphlet
- Pre-Employment Inquiry Guidelines
- Report of New Employee(s)
- SDI Provisions
- Sexual Harassment Pamphlet
- State Income Tax Withholding - Form
- Statement of Intent To Employ A Minor
- Unemployment-Disability-Paid Family Leave Notice
- Withholding Notice to Employees
- Workers' Compensation Fact Sheet
- In the Staff Files section:
- Employee/Payroll Change Notice
- In the Performance Management section:
- Performance Management Process Map
- Professional Performance Review Form
- In the Separations section:
- DOL - Model Continuation Coverage Election Notice (State Continuation) (New)
- DOL - Model Premium Assistance Extension Notice (New)
- DOL - Summary of Model COBRA Notices
- DOL Model COBRA Continuation Coverage Election Notice
- For Your Benefit - Unemployment Insurance
- HIPP Notice
- Notice Regarding Change in Relationship
- Separation Notice
Employee Handbook Updates
There have been several new laws introduced for 2010 that should be reflected in company policy. We have updated the SharedHR Employee Handbook platform in 8.0 to incorporate the recommended policy language changes. As is SharedHR's continued practice, all of our policy changes are reviewed by legal counsel so that our clients can rest assured that their employment risk is significantly reduced.
We encourage all our clients to update their current handbooks as soon as possible to comply with the new and clarified laws by following the guidelines below.
Updating your SharedHR Employee Handbook(s) is a straightforward process. Under Administration Tools, clicking on Update Company Information and Handbook(s) takes you to the Update Handbook(s) section of the site. Unless you have already started a draft version of your currently released Handbook, you will be prompted to do so. Once in draft mode, you can review and answer the questions on each tab and make any of your own changes to reflect your current company policy and procedures. To determine which policies have updated versions, click Show All on the Custom tab to view Last Upd Date. (Remember you can review the Draft Handbook version, and compare it to your Current (Released) Handbook version by clicking on the options in the upper right hand corner of the Handbook set up screen). Lastly, be sure to review the updated language and familiarize yourself with the changes (as listed below) prior to releasing the updated Employee Handbook to your employees.
The following sections have been updated (depending on the states in which you operate) to reflect the changes made in 2009 State and Federal laws, court cases, regulatory guidelines and/or other general language modifications:
- Accrual of Vacation and Carry Over (or PTO)
- Business Ethics and Conduct
- Cellular / Wireless Telephones
- Confidential and Proprietary Information
- Discrimination and Harassment
- Dispute Resolution Procedure (new)
- Domestic Partner
- Drugs and Alcohol
- Education Reimbursement Program
- Electronic Communication / Media
- Employee Referral Program
- Employment Verification
- Equal Employment Opportunity
- Family Care and Medical Leave
- Holiday Pay Eligibility
- Investigations Policy
- Jury Duty Leave
- Leave for Military Spouses and Domestic Partners
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- Leave for Victims of Domestic Violence
- Leave Request Procedure
- Make-Up Time
- Military Leave
- Non-Exempt Employee
- Paid Family Leave
- Pregnancy Disability Leave and Accommodation
- Protecting Personal Information
- Purpose of the Handbook
- Regular Full-Time Employee
- Regular Part-Time Employee
- Return to Work
- Searches
- Sexual Harassment
- Sick Leave
- Telecommuting
- Time Records
- Vehicular Operational Safety Guidelines
- Worker's Compensation Benefits
- Workplace Violence Policy
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In addition to the policies listed above, we have summarized some of the more significant changes for 2010:
Expanded FMLA Coverage For Military Families: The National Defense Authorization Act expands military leave under FMLA. The amendments extend military caregiver leave to family members of veterans and allow exigency leave for family members of all covered active duty military men and women. The new law expands rights of caregiver leave up to 26 weeks, defines injury or illness to include an aggravation of an existing or pre-existing injury, and extends exigency leaves to cover situations where a service member is deployed to a foreign country.
ARRA, COBRA Subsidy Extended:Under the ARRA, the federal government pays sixty-five (65%) percent of COBRA premiums for up to nine (9) months for employees who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009. The ARRA was amended on December 19, 2009 to increase the maximum COBRA subsidy for two additional months through the end of February 2010, and expands the COBRA subsidy program's original nine-month period for an additional six months, providing subsidy recipients with a total of up to 15 months of premium assistance.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act:GINA makes it unlawful for employers with 15 or more employees to discriminate against an individual on the basis of genetic information. Employers may not request genetic information, including family history (with limited exceptions), from employees or job applicants. Employers must treat any acquired information as confidential medical information and stored in separate medical files. GINA includes a posting requirement and employers should replace their current “EEO is the Law” poster with a revised EEO posting including GINA protections.
New ADA Regulations Issued By EEOC:On September 16, 2009, the EEOC voted to approve ADA regulations to the Amendments Act of 2008. The Act retains the ADA's basic definition of "disability", however it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways. It expands the existing lists of major life activities and bodily functions that are covered by ADA, clarifies that an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity, and clarifies that an employee whose only protected characteristic is being “regarded as” disabled is not entitled to a reasonable accommodation.
California - Heightened Retaliation Protections: The California Supreme Court says that employees can silently oppose discrimination and still sue for retaliation. The decision will make it easier for employees to bring claims of retaliation, and will make it more difficult for employers to get retaliation cases dismissed prior to trial.
California - Flexibility with Alternative Workweeks: Assembly Bill 5 amends current California Labor Code to give employers increased flexibility in implementing alternative workweek schedules. The amendment permits employers to offer a regular schedule of five, eight (8) hour days in a workweek as one of the “menu options” offered, and includes a provision that a single employee may qualify as a “work unit” . These provisions now allow employees, with their employer's consent, to move from one schedule option to another on a weekly basis.
Hawaii -No Discrimination Based On Credit History: Employers are restricted from discriminating against employees because of their credit history.
Illinois -Sexual Orientation Protected Status, Also Leave For Domestic Violence:In August 2009, legislation was signed amending three Illinois employment laws. Employers should be aware of additional exposure now potentially arising under the amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act, the Victim's Economic Security and Safety Act (“VESSA” ) and the Illinois Human Rights Act. The Illinois Equal Pay Act has been amended to adopt the federal standard for determining the timeframe for filing a state law complaint for gender-based wage discrimination. VESSA has been amended and now employers with 15 and 49 employees must provide up to eight weeks of unpaid leave to victims of such violence.
New York -Wage And Hour Changes (mostly as they pertain to the work performed): Starting on October 26, 2009, employers must give newly-hired workers written notice of the rate at which they will be paid and their regular payday, under New York's Labor Law. The notice must be given to new employees before they do any work and must include the employee's overtime rate of pay, if they qualify for overtime.
Washington - “Everything but Marriage” law: Same-sex domestic partners will now have the same rights and benefits that Washington State offers married couples under a bill that passed the state Legislature. The bill expands on previous laws by adding domestic partnerships to all remaining areas of state law where currently only married couples are mentioned.
Members of our Client Services department are always available to support your efforts to maximize your investment in SharedHR. Contact us at Client Services, or give us a call at 800-886-9478 if you have any questions at all.
For more information about implementing 2010 compliance and content Updates, look for our upcoming Webinar, “SharedHR Annual Updates - What You Need to Do".
Thank you for choosing SharedHR.