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Professional Employer Organization and HR Outsourcing News, Articles and Commentary
PEOChat.com is a moderated forum sponsored by StaffMarket.com. We welcome everyone involved in the Professional Employer Organization and HR Outsourcing industry who will contribute intelligent dialog on subjects that are important to the success of PEOs. If you have a special topic that you would like to see discussed, please email us and we will create a new article for you.
| Listing Date | Article Link | Article Review / Excerpt | Reader Comments |
| 5/30/2013 | EMPO Clients Acquired by G&A Partners Source: StaffMarket | Minnesota based PEO delivers clients to Texas based G&A Partners G&A Partners a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in Houston Texas, announced that they have acquired the clients of EMPO Corporation, a Minnesota domiciled PEO. According to the announcement in the Wall Street Journal, EMPO had roughly 100 PEO/ASO clients that will be transferred to G&A partners. According to the article the staff at EMPO will remain and transition to positions with G&A Partners. Financial details of the client acquisition were not disclosed. Clients of EMPO may want to review the StaffMarket article for what to do if your PEO was just sold. |  Post the first comment about: EMPO Clients Acquired by G&A Partners |
| 5/17/2013 | NAPEO Announces Ad Initiative Source: StaffMarket | The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations expands the PEO message. NAPEO recently release a new slogan, “Keep Calm and Call a PEO”. The advertising is shown with the image of the British crown. The ad copy appears to be a take off from a campaign in Britain at the beginning of World War II that was meant to keep up the spirits of the British population who feared invasion. Watch a video about the origin of the “Keep Calm” campaign. Given the situation facing many small and medium sized business today, the campaign slogan appears very appropriate for the times.  | Post the first comment about: NAPEO Announces Ad Initiative |
| 5/2/2013 | Workers Comp Pricing Gets Harder Source: CFO.com | CFO article about increases in work comp insurance costs and what larger companies are doing to keep costs down. The examples of how companies are take lots of first dollar risk and implementing safety and claims management practices is important for companies to understand. However these are large companies like Red Robin that can afford to have dedicated staff to implement these changes. Many small companies do not have the expertise or the knowledge to implement these kinds of strategies and therefore are getting hit the hardest with rate increases and in some bad cases are finding it difficult to get any WC coverage. Even Professional Employer Organizations or PEOs are being challenged to underwrite many of these small accounts. | Post the first comment about: Workers Comp Pricing Gets Harder |
| 5/1/2013 | Merit Resources Acquired Source: Iowa Network Services | Merit Resources an Iowa based PEO has been acquired by a telecom company named Iowa Network Services. The information release indicates that the senior management team at Merit Resources will remain in place. Merit has been a longtime PEO presence with clients primarily located in Iowa. Merit has been based in Des Moines, IA since 1989 and is the largest PEO in the state. Today, Merit provides valuable HR solutions to more than 400 clients and 11,000 worksite employees across 40 states. | Post the first comment about: Merit Resources Acquired |
| 4/29/2013 | NFIB Survey - Many Top Business Concerns Addressed by PEOs Source: StaffMarket | The National Federation Of Indepedent Businesses survey conducted in August 2012 ranks top business concerns. PEOs help with 14 out of 75 main areas. | Latest Comment: - 5/3/2013 Good article Read All 1 Comments about: NFIB Survey - Many Top Business Concerns Addressed by PEOs |
| 4/25/2013 | Obama 2014 Budget Proposal - Impact for Employers Source: StaffMarket | President Obama's proposed budget for 2014 has impact for small businesses President Barack Obama has sent the US Congress his proposed budget for 2014 and it has some significant impacts and opportunities for small employers. Whether these provisions actually become law remains to be seen, however, HR and business managers of small and medium sized companies need to be aware of what may be coming down the road. Business owners should review the highlights listed below and start planning now for how these items may impact their companies and what processes will need to be implemented or revised in order to ensure regulatory compliance. Companies using a PEO should review the items below and discuss them with their PEO HR advisor to understand how their PEO will be addressing these items on the client’s behalf. | Post the first comment about: Obama 2014 Budget Proposal - Impact for Employers |
| 2/6/2013 | PPACA Burdens for Businesses Source: StaffMarket | The impacts of PPACA, or Obamacare is now starting to be understood for business owners and managers. The impacts on the productivity of the economy is estimated at 127 million man hours. For the last several years, many business owners have been ignoring the impacts of the PPACA on their businesses. It will never survive the Supreme Court challenge... oops. It will be overturned by Romney after he wins the election... oops again. Now the political drama appears to be over for the moment and business owners and managers are starting to assess what is really required to meet the terms of the new laws. While every business has unique individual circumstances, the overall impact on businesses in the USA are now starting to be tallied. Congressmen John Kline, chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee today unveiled the ObamaCare burden tracker. The tool attempts to estimate JUST the administrative time spent for business to adhere to the terms of the law. | Post the first comment about: PPACA Burdens for Businesses |
| 1/14/2013 | Compass Investment Partners Acquires CoAdvantage Resources Source: CIP Capital | Co-Advantage Resources of Orlando, Florida has been acquired by Compass Investment Partners. Financing for the purchase was through Madison Capital Funding LLC (New York Life), TIAA Cref and Fifth Street Finance. CoAdvantage Resources is a leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO) that offers small and mid-sized businesses a comprehensive package of outsourced human resources solutions enabling them to reduce their administrative burden, ensure compliance with employer regulations, and gain access to affordable employee benefits. The Company integrates payroll and tax processing, employee benefit plan administration, risk management, government compliance and other human resources services into a single vendor solution that is extremely efficient and effective. | Post the first comment about: Compass Investment Partners Acquires CoAdvantage Resources |
| 12/13/2012 | Aetna CEO: Some Health Insurance Premiums Will Double Source: Bloomberg | Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini tells analysts that the Affordable Health Care Act (PPACA) will cause small group health insurance and individual policy premiums costs to skyrocket The CEO of the national third largest health insurance company predicts that the costs from banning discrimination for per-sexiting health insurnace underwriting will drive costs to nearly double current rates. "Those taxes will make coverage more expensive for insurers, as will other provisions such as a ban on discriminating against people with pre-existing medical conditions, Bertolini said. Premiums are likely to increase 25 percent to 50 percent on average in the small-group and individual markets, he said, citing projections by his Hartford, Connecticut-based company. " | Post the first comment about: Aetna CEO: Some Health Insurance Premiums Will Double |
| 11/9/2012 | Health Insurance for Business Owners under ACA – Which way to turn? Source: StaffMarket | The exit of insurance agents and advisors leaves business with less guidance while health plan costs and regulatory impacts soar. PEOs see an opportunity. While business across the USA struggle to access the impact of the ACA laws on their company health plans and their employees, the traditional pool of people to help them figure it all out is going away. Many employers are now becoming aware of the reality that the November 2012 defeat of Mitt Romney all but guaranteed that the ACA is here to stay. Business owners who had deferred planning on their health insurance options are now under the gun to understand their options for themselves and their employees. The implementation schedule for the ACA is already underway and for business owners and managers, important compliance issues and decisions must be made. Company Sponsored Health Plans Decisions - More Complex and More Significant For small and mid-sized businesses the complexity of making decisions about how to handle their health insurance plans or whether to offer one at all, just got much more complicated. For every business there is a unique set of factors that will influence their health insurance plan decision.
This is just a start on the complicated analysis required for business owners who want to maintain legal compliance with ACA and still provide and affordable plan for their staff. Get more detail on navigating the ACA. | Post the first comment about: Health Insurance for Business Owners under ACA – Which way to turn? |
| 10/30/2012 | Time off to vote - Voting laws by state Source: StaffMarket | Review voting laws for all US states Employees and employers need to know the rules for their state. | Post the first comment about: Time off to vote - Voting laws by state |
| 10/23/2012 | Employee Health Coverage Reporting Changes affect PEOs and PEO clients in 2013 Source: StaffMarket | Affordable Care Act requires 2012 W2 information to include value of employer sponsored health coverage Effective for federal W2s for the calendar year 2012 (issued in early 2013), companies and employees working with a Professional Employer Organization will notice that the value of employer sponsored health coverage is now included on the employees W2. The value of the coverage will be shown in W2 form Box 12 with code DD.  | Post the first comment about: Employee Health Coverage Reporting Changes affect PEOs and PEO clients in 2013 |
| 10/18/2012 | Payroll Tax Increase Coming for 2013 Source: StaffMarket | Employee FICA Tax Reverts to 6.2% starting January 1, 2013
After two years (2011 and 2012) of being reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%, the employee FICA payroll tax on employment wages is set to revert back to 6.2% effective the start of 2013. The current maximum wage base for the calculation is 110,100 for 2012 and is set to rise to 113,700 for 2013. According to the Wall Street Journal, there does not appear to be any political motivation from either the Republicans or Democrats to extend the FICA reductions in to 2013 so right now it appears that the tax will revert back on January 1, 2013. It is estimated that the reduction has cost the US government $120 billion per year for the last two years and the reduction saves the average family $933 each year. As of today, with two presidential debates completed and tax policy being a major discussion items between the candidates there has been no mention of this tax increase that will impact all working Americans very shortly. For the average working American earning $50,000 per year this is will mean an additional $1,000 per year tax hike just for social security taxes. The FICA matching tax amounts for employers will remain unchanged since it was never part of the temporary tax cut. | Post the first comment about: Payroll Tax Increase Coming for 2013 |
| 10/9/2012 | Manager - Worker Romances: Not a Good Idea Source: StaffMarket | Employers who allow managers and subordinates to become involved romantically face significant financial risks Given that many people spend as much or more time at work as anywhere else, and the fact that women have entered the workforce in mass in the last 30 years, well it is only natural that humans will do what humans do. And that is where the trouble can begin when one of them has supervisory authority over the other. Why does it matter? Well if you think that what happens between consenting adults is no one else’s business and that it is not your concern as an employer, then you could be making an expensive mistake.  | Post the first comment about: Manager - Worker Romances: Not a Good Idea |
| 9/14/2012 | SOI - Strategic Outsourcing Inc. Purchased by Trinet Source: StaffMarket | SOI - A PEO headquartered in North Carolina and longtime presence in the Southeast United States has been purchased by Trinet. Strategic Outsourcing Inc. known as SOI and one of the nations largest Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) has been purchased by Trinet. According to information from SOI, they process over $2.5 billion in payroll for over 62,000 worksite employees. SOI was founded by Steven Mariano the late 1990s and was later sold to Union Planters Bank which later became Regions Bank. Executives at SOI included CEO Carl Guidice, President Gil Aleman, Sales EVP Eldridge Bravo and COO Anthony Dannon. Mr. Danon was formerly the VP of finance at Staff Leasing, Inc. a publically traded PEO that later became Gevity and was later taken private when purchased by Trinet. SOI has headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Trinet may now become the nation’s largest PEO at 104,000 worksite employees following the spring acquisition of Accord HR in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. According to information from Alphastaff, SOI had 2.9% of the PEO market in 2010 and Trinet had 1.9% of the PEO market. | Post the first comment about: SOI - Strategic Outsourcing Inc. Purchased by Trinet |
| 8/13/2012 | Illinois Clarifies Job Credits for PEO clients Source: State of Illinois | The state of Illinois recently extended the Small Business Jobs Creation Tax Credit program to run through the end of June 2016. PEOs were also included in the program extension. First, we extended the program to run from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016. The other new piece to this program is that PEO’s (Professional Employer Organizations) would be able to receive a tax credit based on their working relationship with an eligible business. | Post the first comment about: Illinois Clarifies Job Credits for PEO clients |
| 7/27/2012 | Florida Amends Unemployment Compensation Rules for Employee Leasing Companies Source: StaffMarket | The state of Florida now allows PEOs to elect to use either a master experience unemployment rate or the individual UI rate of each of their clients. Once declared, the method cannot be changed and applies to all of the PEO's existing clients and future clients. Florida has adopted changes to the way employee leasing companies (also known as Professional Employer Organizations or PEOs) may pay and report contributions for state unemployment taxes. With the new rules, employee leasing companies in Florida are allowed to make a one-time election to use the unemployment rate (for non-internal employees) of each individual client rather than a single rate established for the whole employee leasing company. Under the client level election, the unemployment claims and tax payments may now be done using the tax identification number of the employee leasing client rather than the tax ID of the PEO. | Post the first comment about: Florida Amends Unemployment Compensation Rules for Employee Leasing Companies |
| 7/24/2012 | Small Firms Turn to Professional Employer Organizations Source: WorkForce.com | Article discusses the reasons many entrepreneurs hire a PEO. Savings on health insurance are also reviewed. "The only downside is the administrative costs, but I more than make up for it in what I pay for health care insurance," said Wald, whose firm covers 80 percent of its workers' health insurance costs in addition to paying an administrative fee of $100 a month per employee. "I would bear an extra $80,000 in health insurance costs if I switched out of the PEO." | Post the first comment about: Small Firms Turn to Professional Employer Organizations |
| 7/13/2012 | Criminal Background Checks for Job Applicants Source: StaffMarket | Background checks create a mine field of risks and fines for employers. In May of 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released guidelines for employers regarding the consideration of arrest and conviction records when make a hiring determination. With high unemployment in the United States and the increasingly large number of citizens who have had run-ins with the police, it is almost inevitable that employers will be forced to review their stance on asking about arrests and convictions during the application and hiring process.According to the National Employment Law Project one if four U.S. adults, over 65 million people, have an arrest or conviction that shows up on a standard criminal background check. The NELP report, “65 Million Need Not Apply”, released in March 2011 documents that both and large employers routinely deny employment opportunities to people with any blemish on a criminal background check in direct violation of Title VII. In 2010, RadioShack and their client Choice Point (their background check provider) were heavily fined by the EEOC. The report notes that “ChoicePoint, which accounts for an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. background check industry conducting more than 10 million annually, played an integral role in designing and implementing RadioShack’s unlawful practices. It created an online application system that automatically dismissed anyone who self-disclosed a criminal record history. ChoicePoint also conducted background checks for RadioShack that reported sealed and dismissed convictions, in violation of state law.” The increase in legal actions highlights the widespread non-compliance of employers with federal law, and the growing interest in pursuing legal actions against employers, staffing firms, and background check companies for unlawfully excluding people with criminal records from work. To avoid the wrath of the EEOC and mitigate the legal risk of discriminatory suits regarding section VII violations, all employers need to use care when using background checks for job applicants. Employers who automatically ask all applicants about arrests and then automatically deny employment to those with records will be in violation of the law and may be exposed to significant fines from the EEOC in addition to civil and class action lawsuits. | Post the first comment about: Criminal Background Checks for Job Applicants |
| 7/9/2012 | Hawaii PEOs Convince Governor to Revise Bonding Requirement Source: Maui News | With support from the Maui Chamber of Commerce, PEOs and employment agencies in Hawaii convinced the governor to veto Senate bill 2424 related to Professional Employer Organizations. The vetoed bill proposed raising the bonding requirement to $500K and up to $1M for larger firms. Act 129 passed in 2010 and is current law. It includes a performance bond requirement of $250,000 for professional employer organizations (deemed by the state to include smaller employment agencies who did not feel they came under this law). This bond amount is higher than all but one state with a bond requirement and created an insurmountable challenge for many employment agencies statewide. Insurance agents and businesses seeking these bonds report that all of the major bonding companies in Hawaii do not want to issue these bonds to employment agencies. The time, hurdles and added costs are huge. In fact, to get such a bond, these small businesses would have to leave cash reserves in the amount equal to the required bond amount untouched. Unable to get a bond in Hawaii, many firms are not compliant with the current law - a law passed without talking to the affected industry and without solving a real problem back in 2010. To date, despite contacting multiple state offices, we have not heard of a single case where consumers needed to be protected to justify the writing of this law. | Post the first comment about: Hawaii PEOs Convince Governor to Revise Bonding Requirement |
| 7/5/2012 | State of Pennsylvania enacts PEO Legislation Source: State of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett has approved comprehensive legislation (House Bill 1055) for Professional Employer Organizations operating in that state. The bill includes many recommendations of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). | Post the first comment about: State of Pennsylvania enacts PEO Legislation |
| 7/4/2012 | Tough Health Care Choices for Georgia Businesses Source: Atlanta Journal and Constitution | Business owners in Georgia comments on the impact on their companyies from rising health insurance costs and the supreme court ruling on The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). One business owner notes the health insurance savings for her staff when her company joined a PEO Julie Haley, chief executive of an information technology company in Alpharetta called Edge Solutions, says she paid exorbitant insurance rates to cover employees when she started her company in 2008, and she knew she had to make a change a year later when her premiums shot up 33 percent. "We're lucky we stayed in business," Haley said. She switched to a professional employer organization that insures her company's 25 employees that is cheaper but that also includes human resources services that Haley doesn't need. She hopes the health insurance exchanges set up by the overhaul will lead to lower insurance costs. "The people who are afraid are the misinformed who have been listening to too much fear-mongering," she said. "You can't keep growing jobs here with the rising cost of healthcare. Our premiums are so expensive now because we are paying for people without health insurance." Haley said she thinks her costs will drop enough starting in 2014, when many of the changes take effect, that she'll be able to hire more employees. | Post the first comment about: Tough Health Care Choices for Georgia Businesses |
| 6/25/2012 | Michigan clarifies UI / SUTA rates of PEO and new Clients Source: State of Michigan | Governor amends existing legislation to modify the "look-back" period for determining the Unemployment Insurance rates for clients joining and leaving a PEO. | Post the first comment about: Michigan clarifies UI / SUTA rates of PEO and new Clients |
| 6/25/2012 | Your Company Cell Phone Policy Source: StaffMarket | Uh, Company Cell Phone Policy. You do have one, right? In December 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving. With the increasing reliance of employees on mobile communications this ban would have a major impact on employers. Increasingly employees are using mobile devices to stay connected with their work while out of the office. Conversations with clients, prospects and home office staff may be conducted while behind the wheel and doing company business. Many devices now enable full email and web browsing as well as standard texting. Many employers encourage employees to multi-task at the office, but should they be doing that when behind the wheel? According to the NTSB report over 3000 driving fatalities where reported in 2011 involving distracted drivers. A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study of commercial drivers found that a safety-critical event is 163 times more likely if a driver is texting, e-mailing or accessing the Internet.
| Post the first comment about: Your Company Cell Phone Policy |
| 6/22/2012 | Michigan PEO Licensing Deadline Nears Source: StaffMarket | Recent Michigan legislation requires Professional Employer Organizations to apply for a license and pay a registration fee. The state of Michigan recently enacted legislation regulating all Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) in the state. All PEOs with clients in the state must submit an application and pay a fee to the state by July 1, 2012. The Michigan bureau of Commercial Services (BC) has indicated that licenses will be issued by issues by September of 2012 and no PEO may operate in Michigan after that date without first obtaining a license. | Post the first comment about: Michigan PEO Licensing Deadline Nears |
| 6/20/2012 | Top 10 Tips for Small Businesses Source: Water Well Journal | People management skills are critical for small businesses. Top 10 tips for success. By outsourcing some or all of their employee related tasks such as payroll, benefits, health care, recruitment and retention, small business owners can focus on what they do best. They can improve productivity and also save some money. According to the SBA, business owners spend from 7% to 25% of their time handling employee related tasks. Consider using a human resource outsourcer—also known as a Professional Employer Organization “PEO”, or an administrative service organization “ASO”. The primary advantage of outsourcing, as opposed to hiring or designating someone in-house, is the expertise these companies bring. Instead of hiring one generalist, you get dozens of HR related experts. | Post the first comment about: Top 10 Tips for Small Businesses |
| 6/19/2012 | Barrett Business Services Ownership Changes Source: Seattle Times | Washington state based PEO buys out interest of former CEO's estate. The widow of Barrett Business Services former CEO, William Sheretz, has sold her equity interest back to the company for $59.72 million. Board members agreed to buy out her stake after her failed attempt to appoint her own group of company directors. Barrett Business Services is a Professional Employer operating in the Pacific Northwest area of the USA. | Post the first comment about: Barrett Business Services Ownership Changes |
| 6/8/2012 | Tennessee Passes PEO Legislation Source: StaffMarket | The state of Tennessee has passed Senate Bill 2633 that regulates Professional Employer Organizations operating in Tennessee. The Tennessee State Senate has passed Senate Bill 2633 that codifies the requirements for PEOs with clients in Tennessee. The new legislation contains provisions for Professional Employer Organizations in TN and clarifies the rights and responsibilities of both PEO and their clients. PEOs operating in Tennessee will now be required to provide audited financial statements to the state, proof of workers' compensation policy validity and proof of adequate working capital (or appropriate bond). | Post the first comment about: Tennessee Passes PEO Legislation |
| 5/24/2012 | Oklahoma Based Accord HR Acquired by Trinet Source: StaffMarket | Well known Oklahoma based PEO sells to Trinet On April 26, 2012 San Leandro, CA based Trinet announced the acquisition of Oklahoma City based AccordHR. Both companies are privately held and terms of the sale were not disclosed. Oklahoma based AccordHR was founded in 1992 by Dale Hageman and grew to be one of the largest PEOs in Oklahoma. In 1995, AccordHR joined forces with John Jones in Tampa, Florida where a separate PEO was established (Accord of Florida) with Mr. Jones acting as president. According to the State of Florida, Accord HR has twelve active operating companies in Florida. In Oklahoma, Accord Human Resources has thirteen operating companies. | Latest Comment: - 9/8/2012 Trinet, Accord and SOI all in Read All 2 Comments about: Oklahoma Based Accord HR Acquired by Trinet |
| 5/22/2012 | PEO Industry Members Promote Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA) Source: StaffMarket | PEO Industry Members Promote Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA). PEO industry leadership group goes to capital hill seeking favorable legislation. Members of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) met in Washington DC this week for the annual NAPEO legislative leadership conference. While attending the conference many PEO executives also took the opportunity to meet with various legislators and staff regarding their promotion of the Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA). The bill is known as H.R. 2466 in the House of Representatives and S. 1908 in the Senate with sponsorship provided by representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Kevin Brady (R-TX) in the house and Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) in the Senate. | Post the first comment about: PEO Industry Members Promote Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA) |
| 5/16/2012 | Is your business leaking money? Source: Business 2 Community | Good information about how business owners can put costs under the microscope and how outsourcing to a PEO can help. Obviously, any given business may vary from this list, depending on its operating model and industry. However, it's worthwhile to consider, not just how you can cut costs in these major categories, but how you can restructure them to be more appropriate for you. For example, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) can save small businesses huge amounts of payroll, tax and benefits-related costs, while still giving workers similar compensation packages. | Post the first comment about: Is your business leaking money? |
| 1/17/2012 | Administrative Concepts Sells PEO Operation Source: StaffMarket | Administrative Concepts (ACC) a long time PEO in Florida has sold its operation to Progressive Employer Management Company (PEMCO) a Professional Employer Organization located in Sarasota Florida. January 15, 2012 Administrative Concepts (ACC) a long time PEO in Florida has sold its operation to Progressive Employer Management Company (PEMCO) a Professional Employer Organization located in Sarasota Florida. ACC was founded in 1995 by George Bushong and his wife Sarah Peel. Mr. Bushong has had a long time involvement with the employee leasing industry and was part of the original group that created Staff Leasing in Bradenton, Florida in the early 1980s. Mr. Bushong helped maneuver his company, ACC, through the tumultuous period of workers’ compensation insurance in 2001 by starting his own workers' compensation carrier, Southern Eagle Insurance. Creating the insurance company allowed ACC to offer their employee leasing clients workers' compensation insurance when many traditional work comp carriers would not write policies to any employee leasing companies. The strategy helped ACC grow during a time period when many other employee leasing companies were being forced to close their doors. The effectiveness of that strategy came to an abrupt end when Southern Eagle Insurance Company was forced in to receivership by the Florida Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater on December 16, 2011. Any former clients of ACC who have outstanding workers' compensation claims prior to the merger with PEMCO should review information located at the Florida Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation about how Southern Eagle Insurance claims will be paid. With the entry of the liquidation order, the Florida Workers' Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association (FWCIGA) was activated to help pay claims for workers' compensation policies. | Post the first comment about: Administrative Concepts Sells PEO Operation |
| 1/6/2012 | Employee Leasing Solutions Sold Source: StaffMarket | One of the founders of the employee leasing industry, William Mullis has sold his company, Employee Leasing Solutions to a new employee leasing company named Workforce Business Services. January 6, 2012. One of the founders of the employee leasing industry, William Mullis has sold his company, Employee Leasing Solutions to a new employee leasing company named Workforce Business Services. According to information on the ELS website, Robert Kelly a long time business partner and executive at ELS has purchased the interest of Mr. Mullis. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. | Post the first comment about: Employee Leasing Solutions Sold |
| 12/8/2011 | Eight US States Increase Minimum Wage Rates for 2012 Source: StaffMarket | Eight US States have new minimum wage rates for 2012. Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have new minimum wage rates effective January 1, 2012. | Post the first comment about: Eight US States Increase Minimum Wage Rates for 2012 |
| 12/5/2011 | Chiropractors Explore Alternate Staffing Arrangements Source: Chiropractic Economics | Article discusses the challenges faced by medical organizations when staffing to meet their business needs. Contract labor, staffing companies and Professional Employer Organizations offer options that come with differing employer responsibilities. Today, many professional practices and businesses need help managing increasingly complex employee-related matters such as health benefits, workers’ compensation claims, payroll, payroll tax compliance, and unemployment insurance claims. They often contract with a professional employer organization (PEO) to assume those responsibilities and provide human resources management. This allows the business owner to concentrate on the operational and revenue-producing side of his or her operations. | Post the first comment about: Chiropractors Explore Alternate Staffing Arrangements |
| 11/21/2011 | Senate Bill seeks to clarify tax treatment for PEOs Source: StaffMarket | US Senator Chuck Grassley introduces senate bill SB 1908 that seeks to clarify tax treatment for Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs). November 18, 2011 US Senators Chuck Grassley and Bill Nelson have co-sponsored legislation that would amend the IRS tax code to clarify the tax treatment for companies operating as professional employer organizations. The PEO industry has long sought clarification from congress on the tax implications for PEOs. This clarification has important ramifications for PEOs and their clients. | Post the first comment about: Senate Bill seeks to clarify tax treatment for PEOs |
| 11/16/2011 | NAPEO Names New President and CEO - Pat Cleary Source: StaffMarket | The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) names new President and CEO. After nearly a year of searching for a new president and CEO for NAPEO (the national association of professional employer organizations) Pat Cleary has been named to the position. The former NAPEO president and CEO with the organization resigned on December 31, 2011 after serving in that role for 15 years. Joe Cole served as the interim CEO. | Post the first comment about: NAPEO Names New President and CEO - Pat Cleary |
| 11/9/2011 | Pennsylvania Senate moves on PEO legislation Source: StaffMarket | The Pennsylvania senate has scheduled SB 1069 that regulates Professional Employer Organization activities in the state. The PA senate has scheduled SB 1069 that addresses the operating rules for Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) doing business in Pennsylvania. The PA house has already passed a similar bill, HB 1055. Details include a requirement for PEOs in the state to provide audited financial statements to the state and to meet a working capital or bonding requirement. Read the bill here: | Post the first comment about: Pennsylvania Senate moves on PEO legislation |
| 9/28/2011 | Health Care Reform for Small Employers - Calculating Full Time Workers Source: Employers Association of New Jersey | Health care reform set to take effect in 2014 requires employers with 50 or more full time workers to provide health insurance premiums for their employees or face penalties. But determining how to calculate the 50 employees threshold can be tricky for companies that have a season workforce of have a large number of part time employees. This article explains. The issue is complicated because hourly workers are included in the arithmetic employers must use to determine whether or not they have 50 "full-time equivalent" workers. The law defines a full-timer as an employee who works at least 30 hours a week, or 130 hours per month. But for hourly workers, the employer totals all the hours they work in a month, and then divides by 120 to arrive at the number of full-time equivalents, who are then added to the full-time work force. | Post the first comment about: Health Care Reform for Small Employers - Calculating Full Time Workers |
| 9/28/2011 | Georgia Employers Must Hire Lawyers to Answer Garnishments Source: Fisher and Phillips LLP | Georgia companies that handle their own payroll and HR now must hire legal counsel to answer garnishments. This could be another good reason for companies to outsource payroll and HR administration to a PEO. Many Georgia companies have been accustomed to having their internal payroll and HR staff answer and implement garnishment actions. It now appears that the Georgia supreme court has ruled that these companies and their staff are engaged in the unlicensed practice of law. The Georgia Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law opined that although citizens have a constitutional right to self representation, businesses are required to be represented by a licensed attorney in legal proceedings, including garnishment actions. | Post the first comment about: Georgia Employers Must Hire Lawyers to Answer Garnishments |
| 9/26/2011 | Obama "Jobs" Bill - Businesses Could Be Sued For Bias Against Unemployed Source: StaffMarket | President Barack Obama's latest "jobs" bill provides a provision that allows business owners to be sued for not hiring someone because they are unemployed. President Barack Obama’s latest "jobs" bill provides a provision that allows business owners to be sued for not hiring someone because they are unemployed. The bill makes it "an unlawful employment practice" if a business with 15 or more employees refused to hire a person because of the individual’s status as unemployed. Job applicants who are not hired could sue for damages. Under the proposal the unemployed would be entitled to the same protections as if an employer discriminated against the applicant on the basis of a person's sex, race, religion or national origin. Lawsuits for employment discrimination increase during a sluggish economy. In the fiscal year 2010, job bias charges filed with the employment commission increased 20 percent from 2007 and reached a record of nearly 100,000. | Latest Comment: - 10/5/2011 Jobs bill Read All 1 Comments about: Obama "Jobs" Bill - Businesses Could Be Sued For Bias Against Unemployed |
| 9/23/2011 | Employer / Contractor Misclassification - IRS Offers Companies Penalty Relief Source: StaffMarket | The IRS has created a new program that offers companies a reduced penalty for incorrectly treating workers as 1099 independent contractors rather than employees. On September 21, 2011 the IRS announced a new program designed to reduce penalties for companies who have historically classified workers and independent contractors (ICs) rather than employees. Dubbed the “Voluntary Classification Settlement Program” (VECP) the program offers companies relief from penalties and some back payroll taxes that could be assessed if the company was audited by the Department of Labor and found to be incorrectly classifying workers as ICs when the company should have been treating the workers as employees. Under the new IRS initiative, called the Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program, firms will owe 10% of employment taxes liability for reclassified workers in the most recent tax year, with no interest or penalties due. In addition, the company must have consistently treated workers in the past as non-employees and filed 1099s for all ICs for the previous three years. Under the new provisions, companies who come in from the cold and enter the program will not be subject to employee classification employment audit for prior years. | Post the first comment about: Employer / Contractor Misclassification - IRS Offers Companies Penalty Relief |
| 8/31/2011 | Florida Workers Comp Rates on the Rise Source: St. Augustine Record | NCCI has submitted a proposal to Florida State regulators to increase workers’ compensation insurance rates by 8.9 percent. After changes were made to the system in 2003 that capped claim amounts and set limits on attorney fees in 2003, rates in Florida dropped until 2011 when rates were increased overall 7.8 percent. From the 2003 peak, work comp rates in Florida have dropped nearly 65 percent. | Post the first comment about: Florida Workers Comp Rates on the Rise |
| 8/31/2011 | Is a PEO Right For Your Company? Source: US Chamber of Commerce | This article, authored by the new CEO of NAPEO, provides a brief introduction to the benefits for companies of hiring a Professional Employer Organization or PEO. Article Comments from StaffMarket: This article is a great starting point for business owners and managers to use when starting to investigate the viability of using a PEO for their company. Companies with up to 500 employees often find that the overhead associated with hiring a dedicated internal staff to perform the long list of employer related duties is not cost effective compared to outsourcing to a PEO. Every PEO has economies of scale and expert staff ready to handle issues related to: HR administration and risk management, insurance plan management, workers compensation claims administration, unemployment administration, payroll, etc. The reality is the most small businesses who do things “in-house” do it poorly at a higher cost than using a PEO. For business considering hiring a PEO, the things to consider is a bit more expansive than listed here. StaffMarket.com has a PEO and Employee Leasing buyers guide that may be helpful. In addition, understanding each PEO's pricing can be a challenge, so having an independent advisor or CPA review each PEO proposal is also a good idea. As with any business arrangement, having a clear understanding of what services and fees are included and not included makes for a good long term relationship. After advising thousands of clients on how to target and evaluate PEO and employee leasing solutions for their company, we concur that the hiring a PEO can be the best decision many businesses can make. Finding the right PEO makes the difference. | Post the first comment about: Is a PEO Right For Your Company? |
| 8/31/2011 | Perils of Plan Enrollment Miscommunication Source: Idaho Business Review | An excavating company in Idaho pays $150K for messing up health insurance enrollment and payroll premium deductions for an employee. While most of the story here is focused on payroll errors, the real story is that the company’s HR department did not understand the terms of the own health insurance plan enrollment. As a consequence, and new employee who completed the enrollment paperwork did not get on the plan in time and then had subsequent medical bills. The court here rules that the company (not the insurance company) was liable for all the medical bills and attorney fees and court costs. Ouch. Of course is the company had hired a PEO to handle their HR functions, the error probably would have been avoided, and in any case, the PEO would be held financially responsible… not the client company. Shifting risk is an important value of the hiring a PEO. | Post the first comment about: Perils of Plan Enrollment Miscommunication |
| 7/19/2011 | Staff Leasing Signed by Texas Governor Source: Insurance Journal | Texas has implemented measures that require Professional Employer Organizations to provide workers' compensation loss runs for their PEO clients when requested. Several PEOs in Texas have joined forces with independent insurance agents to promote the new rules. While most PEOs would ultimately provide the information, some would not. HB 625 "simply corrects that situation and makes it clear that if you are outside or inside a PEO, if you’re an employer, you have access to that loss information," VanDelinder said. He added that PEO professional organizations were in favor of standardizing the requirements and were instrumental in drafting some of the language in the bill. | Post the first comment about: Staff Leasing Signed by Texas Governor |
| 7/13/2011 | House Bill 2466 Moves Forward for PEOs Source: US House of Representatives | Known as the Small Busienss Efficiency Act, House Bill 2466 has been introduced in congress. Enactment of the bill will solidify the Professional Employer Organization business service model with regards to legalities for successor and predecessor employer status with the IRS for calculating employee wage bases for tax calculations for FICA and FUTA. Wage bases for state unemployment tax standings are expected to follow the national legislation standard. In addition the legislation established a certification program to be established by the Secretary of the Treasury. This certification for PEOs will be a requirement for PEOs who intend to claim the advantages of the legislation. | Latest Comment: - 7/15/2011 HB 2466 :: PEO Service Model f Read All 1 Comments about: House Bill 2466 Moves Forward for PEOs |
| 7/11/2011 | Michigan Delays PEO Licensing Requirement Source: StaffMarket | Michigan delays PEO licensing requirements until September 2012 Legislation has been enacted in Michigan that delays the implementation of the PEO licensing requirement until September 1, 2012. Given the December 2010 enactment of the initial PEO law, the December 31, 2011, licensing deadline, and the reconfiguration of the key regulatory agency, it was determined that delaying the licensing requirement would give the state and NAPEO time necessary to ensure effective implementation. The licensing requirement was contained in Senate Bill 1037 of 2010 (Public Act 370), which provides increased operational certainty for PEOs operating in Michigan. The new PEO statutory provisions include significant portions of the NAPEO model act. It provides a statutory framework for reasonable regulatory standards by clarifying the PEO relationship and protecting PEOs from undue liabilities. It is anticipated to become effective on September 1, 2012. | Post the first comment about: Michigan Delays PEO Licensing Requirement |
| 6/1/2011 | Nevada moves to clarify working capital requirements for PEOs and employee leasing companies. Source: State of Nevada | PEOs must demonstrate adequate working capital for all days of the year. PEOs in operation less than a year must present financial statements reviewed by a CPA. | Post the first comment about: Nevada moves to clarify working capital requirements for PEOs and employee leasing companies. |
| 5/17/2011 | Streamlining HR: Use a PEO Source: Wall Street Journal | A brief introduction to the advantages to business owners of hiring a PEO. This article offers a starting point for evaluating PEO solutions; however other significant factors are involved with targeting the best PEO for a particular company. Workers’ compensation insurance is a significant expense for many companies in manufacturing and construction. Each PEO has certain risk for work comp they can or cannot accept. For white collar companies this is not such a concern. Also, many states require PEO licensing. HR services vary widely in the PEO industry. Some PEO clients have high demands for HR services like employee recruitment and unemployment claims management where others… not so much. Finally access to health insurance plans is a major driver for many PEO clients and each PEO has access to different carriers, plans and pricing. The PEO industry (over 700 PEOS) is a diverse lot of companies and all of these factors and more should be considered when evaluating PEO options. | Latest Comment: - 6/10/2011 WSJ could have used some bette Read All 2 Comments about: Streamlining HR: Use a PEO |
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