Returning Value Blog

WHAT’S NEXT FOR EMPLOYEE MOBILITY?

For many businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the future of work. Businesses are reevaluating their needs for travel, talent acquisition, and office space. Some have even transitioned away from the physical office entirely and opted to work 100% remotely. Businesses suited for remote work may be looking to hire the right person for the job, regardless of location; however, the ability to adopt a hybrid or fully remote model may be limited by industry. For example, a 2020 study by McKinsey found that the finance, management, professional services, and information sectors have the highest potential for remote work with no loss of productivity.

Paperless payroll is a paper-free payroll process that has become hugely popular in recent years. But despite the groundswell of support for paperless payroll solutions, employers should examine the details before making the switch. 

In May 2021, the Department of Labor withdrew the “Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” final rule. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, "The DOL has traditionally analyzed a number of factors to consider whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee and looked at 'the totality of the circumstances.' The withdrawn rule would have applied a more-limited economic-reality test."

Payroll is a mission-critical function — one that must be done even amid disasters or emergencies, such as:

As COVID-19 vaccines become available, employers may require vaccines before employees return to the worksite if the employer believes that failure to be vaccinated constitutes a direct threat to other employees. With the virus still rampant, it's easily transmitted.

If your remote employees live in the state where your business is located, you must follow federal employment laws plus your state's employment rules. But if your remote employees live in a different state from where you conduct business, you must comply with federal employment laws plus the labor laws for each state in which your employees reside. This applies to all areas of employment, including hiring, performance management, payroll, and employee benefits.

The IRS has provided guidance to employers regarding the recent presidential action to allow employers to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of certain payroll tax obligations.

Local income taxes are imposed by local governments, such as cities, counties, or school districts. They are used to fund various locally provided services, such as schools, parks, social services, law enforcement, transportation, and community-improvement programs.  

Until recently, employers in only a handful of industries had to provide significant reporting on COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. But as of May 26, new Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines require a much wider range of employers to determine whether employees caught the coronavirus at work or while performing work-related activities. If so, managers must record the illness on OSHA Form 300.