Employment Law Updates: August 2020

Posted on August 21, 2020November 21, 2020 by AllMyHR

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Federal & State Employment Law Updates: August 2020

Six States and the District of Columbia have updated their employment laws so far this month, alongside one Federal Law Update. Our HR Advisors are versed and ready to answer your toughest HR questions to help your company through working remotely, coming back to work and all year long.

Labor Law Updates for August 2020

Telework and Work Hours

Guidance addressing employers obligation to track teleworking employees compensable hours.

On August 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor released Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-5 to address employers’ obligation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to track teleworking employees compensable work hours.

Although the guidance is specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, it also applies to other telework or remote work arrangements and reaffirms that an employer must pay its employees for all hours worked, including work not requested but allowed and work performed at home.

Additionally, an employer’s obligation to compensate employees for hours worked can be based on their actual or constructive knowledge of that work. For instance, with telework and remote work employees, an employer:

Has actual knowledge of the employees’ regularly scheduled hours; and
May have actual knowledge of hours worked through employee reports or other notifications.

For overtime, an employer may establish constructive knowledge of their employees’ unscheduled hours by exercising reasonable diligence and establishing a process for employees to report their extra time. If an employee fails to report unscheduled hours through such a procedure, the employer is generally not required to investigate further to uncover unreported hours. However, if an employer is otherwise notified through a reasonable method, or if employees are not properly instructed on using a reporting system, then an employer may be liable for those hours worked.

Form I-9 Compliance Flexibility Extended to September 19

Another extension to the flexibility rules for Form I-9 compliance.

On August 18, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced another extension to the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) flexibility rule, which has been extended to September 19, 2020, due to necessary COVID-19 precautions. This flexibility rule, applicable only to remote workplaces, defers the physical presence requirements for in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation for Form I-9. If there are employees physically present at the workplace, then there is no exception for in-person verification.

On March 19, 2020, the DHS first announced that the physical presence requirements were deferred due to COVID-19. Employers are required to monitor the DHS and ICE websites for additional updates regarding when the extensions will be terminated and when normal operations will resume.

ADA and Opioid Abuse

The EEOC released guidancde addressing the use of codeine, oxycodone, and other opiods.

On August 5, 2020, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a guidance addressing employees and the use of codeine, oxycodone, and other opioids. This guidance explains the nondiscrimination and reasonable accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that are applicable those not engaged in current, illegal drug use and who are qualified for employment. This information is not new policy, instead it applies principles already established in the ADA, clarifies existing legal requirements, and discusses the following:

Disqualification from a job for opioid use, legal use of opioids, and drug testing;
On the job performance and safety when using opioids, reasonable accommodations, and addiction; and
Employee rights and legal process when a violation occurs.

Accommodation Strategies for Returning to Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Strategies to assist employers in accommodating employees with disabilities and return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On August 3, 2020, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) posted a blog with strategies covering the following topics to assist employers in accommodating employees with disabilities and their return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic:

General solutions for limiting the risk of exposure to COVID-19;
Solutions to address physical distancing needs; and
Solutions to address communication needs.

However, JAN reminds employers that in some cases it will be necessary to analyze the individual circumstances to provide customized reasonable accommodation solutions.

Individual State Labor Laws

State Specific Labor Law Updates:

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July 2020 Federal Employment Law Updates

Posted on July 22, 2020June 14, 2024 by AllMyHR

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Federal & State Employment Law Updates: July 2020

Six States have updated their employment laws so far this month, alongside six Federal Law Updates. Our HR Advisors are versed and ready to answer your toughest HR questions to help your company through working remotely, coming back to work and all year long.

Labor Law Updates for July 2020

CDC Guidance for COVID-19, Tests, and Discontinuing Home Isolation

A test-based strategy is no longer recommended to determine when to discontinue home isolation, except in certain circumstances and symptom-based criteria wer modified.

On July 20, 2020 the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced:

A test-based strategy is no longer recommended to determine when to discontinue home isolation, except in certain circumstances.
Symptom-based criteria were modified as follows:
- Changed from “at least 72 hours” to “at least 24 hours” have passed since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.
- Changed from “improvement in respiratory symptoms” to “improvement in symptoms” to address expanding list of symptoms associated with COVID-19.
For patients with severe illness, duration of isolation for up to 20 days after symptom onset may be warranted.
For persons who never develop symptoms, isolation and other precautions can be discontinued 10 days after the date of their first positive (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 RNA).

The CDC also provides, and regularly updates, the following resources:

A summary of current evidence and rationale for ending isolation and precautions for persons with COVID-19 using a symptom-based strategy; and
A website for businesses and workplaces to plan, prepare, and respond to COVID-19.

Form I-9 Flexibility Extended Due to COVID-19

An extension to the flexibility rules for Form I-9 compliance.

On July 18, 2020, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced:

An extension to the flexibility rules for Form I-9 compliance to August 19, 2020; and
After July 19, 2020 no additional extensions will be granted to employers who were served notices of inspection by ICE during the month of March 2020.

On March 19, the physical presence requirements associated with the Form I-9 were deferred and set to expire on May 19. Then on May 19, and again on June 19, the deferral was extended for an additional 30 days respectively.

DOL Guidance as Workplaces Reopen During COVID-19

The U.S. Department of Labor released additional guidance on the following laws impacting workplaces reopening during COVID-19.

On July 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor released additional guidance on how the protections of the following laws impact workplaces reopening during COVID-19:

These materials include the following:

Fact Sheet for Employees;
Fact Sheet for Employers;
Questions and Answers about paid sick and expanded family and medical leave under the FFCRA;
Guidance posters for federal workers and all other employees, which fulfill notice requirements for employers that need to inform employees of their FFCRA rights;
Questions and Answers about posting requirements; and
Quick Benefits Tips to determine how much paid leave the FFCRA allows workers to take.

The Wage and Hour Division also provides additional information on issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the FLSA and job-protected leave under the FMLA.

FMLA Forms Updated

The EEOC publishes FAQ regarding the FEEOL and COVID-19.

On July 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new optional-use Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms that employers can use to provide required notices to employees; and employees can use to provide certification of their need for leave for an FMLA qualifying reason. These forms are electronically fillable PDFs and can be electronically saved. Employers may also use their own forms if they provide the same basic notice information and only require the same basic certification information.

The forms that were updated, in June 2020 and expire June 30, 2023, have more questions with check-box responses and include electronic signature features:

Notice Forms – Employers covered by the FMLA are obligated to provide their employees with certain critical notices about the FMLA so that both the employees and the employer have a shared understanding of the terms of the FMLA leave. Employers can use the following forms to provide the notices required under the FMLA:
- Eligibility Notice (Form WH-381) – informs the employee of their eligibility for FMLA leave or at least one reason why the employee is not eligible.
- Rights and Responsibilities Notice (Form WH-381) (combined with the Eligibility Notice) – informs the employee of the specific expectations and obligations associated with the FMLA leave request and the consequences of failure to meet those obligations.
- Designation Notice (Form WH-382) – informs the employee whether the FMLA leave request is approved; also informs the employee of the amount of leave that is designated and counted against the employee’s FMLA entitlement. An employer may also use this form to inform the employee that the certification is incomplete or insufficient and additional information is needed.
Certification Forms – Certification is an optional tool provided by the FMLA for employers to use to request information to support certain FMLA-qualifying reasons for leave. An employee can provide the required information contained on a certification form in any format, such as on the letterhead of the healthcare provider, or official documentation issued by the military. There are five DOL optional-use FMLA certification forms:
- Certification of Healthcare Provider for a Serious Health Condition:
  - Employee’s serious health condition (Form WH-380-E) – use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee.
  - Family member’s serious health condition (Form WH-380-F) – use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee’s family member.
- Certification of Military Family Leave:
  - Qualifying Exigency (Form WH-384) – use when the leave request arises out of the foreign deployment of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent.
  - Military Caregiver Leave of a Current Servicemember (Form WH-385) – use when requesting leave to care for a family member who is a current service member with a serious injury or illness.
  - Military Caregiver Leave of a Veteran (Form WH-385-V) – use when requesting leave to care for a family member is who a covered veteran with a serious injury or illness.

The FMLA does not require the use of any specific form or format. Although the DOL revised the FMLA forms in June 2020 to make them easier to understand for employers, leave administrators, healthcare providers, and employees seeking leave, the revised forms convey and collect the same information, which can be provided in any format, as the old DOL forms.

Employers cannot require employees to provide new certification, using the updated form, when the employee already provided the required FMLA information using the old certification form. Additionally, the content of the information contained within an expired optional-use DOL form is still applicable, regardless of the expiration date. The expiration date on the DOL forms is related to the collection of information as required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and not relevant to the content of the required information.

Lastly, these forms do not have any applicability to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA has different documentation requirements located here (see #15 and #16)

SCOTUS Opinions, Religion, and the Workplace

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided the following cases addressing religion and employment.

On July 8, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided the following cases addressing religion and employment:

In Our Lady of Guadalupe School vs. Morrissey-Berru, the court held that the ministerial exception under the religion clauses of the First Amendment forecloses the adjudication of employment-discrimination claims of Catholic school teachers in these cases. In its opinion, the court applied a modified ministerial exception where two teachers at Catholic elementary schools sued for workplace discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Based on the First Amendment, clergy members cannot bring claims under the federal employment discrimination laws, including the ADA, the ADEA, the Equal Pay Act, and Title VII. The ministerial exception applies only to those employees who perform essentially religious functions. In the opinion, the court shifted from the Hosanna-Tabor four-factor analysis because “it was a rigid formula,” to “whether each particular position implicated the fundamental purpose of the [ministerial] exception.” The opinion concluded with, “[w]hen a school with a religious mission entrusts a teacher with the responsibility of educating and forming students in the faith, judicial intervention into disputes between the school and the teacher threatens the school’s independence in a way that the First Amendment does not allow.” Thus, the Catholic elementary school teachers are “ministers, the exception applies, they cannot sue for employment discrimination.

In Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home vs. Pennsylvania et. al., SCOTUS held that the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury had authority under to create lawful exemptions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for employers with religious or moral objections from providing contraceptive coverage to their employees under their group health plans.

FFCRA and Reporting Qualified Sick Leave Wages and Qualified Family Leave Wages Paid

OSHA released interim guidance regarding enforcing its recordkeeping requirements in recording COVID-19 cases.

On July 8, 2020, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2020-54 guiding employers in their required reporting of the amount of qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages they paid to their employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Employers will be required to report these amounts either on Form W-2, Box 14, or on a separate statement. This required reporting provides employees who are also self-employed with information necessary for properly claiming qualified sick leave equivalent or qualified family leave equivalent credits under the FFCRA.

Read more about the Credit for Sick and Family Leave and the Employee Retention Credit, which are two new employer tax credits for businesses severely impacted by COVID-19.

Individual State Labor Laws

State Specific Labor Law Updates:

Previous Labor Laws & Information

Employment Law Updates: April 2020

Posted on April 23, 2020June 22, 2022 by try HRIS

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Federal & State Employment Law Updates: April 2020

Fourteen States have updated their employment laws so far this month, alongside nine Federal Law Updates. Our HR Advisors are versed and ready to answer your toughest HR questions to help your company through working remotely, coming back to work and all year long.

Labor Law Updates for April 2020

COVID-19, Commercial Drivers, and Hours of Service Temporary Suspension

An emergency declaration regarding suspensions of regulations for permissible drive times for commercial drivers.

On March 13, 2020, the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) released an emergency declaration (No. 2020-002), with an extension on April 8, 2020, in response to national emergency conditions caused by COVID-19 that create an immediate need for transportation of essential supplies, equipment, and persons. It also provides necessary relief from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for motor carriers and drivers engaged in the transport of these essential supplies, equipment, and persons.

Under the declaration, the DOT’s hours of service requirements that regulate permissible drive time are temporarily suspended for commercial motor vehicle operations that provide direct assistance in support of emergency relief efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreaks, including transportation to meet immediate needs for:

Medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19;
Supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation, and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19 such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap, and disinfectants;
Food, paper products, and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores;
Immediate precursor raw materials — such as paper, plastic, or alcohol — that are required and to be used for the manufacture of items in bullets 1, 2, 3, or 5;
Liquefied gases to be used in refrigeration or cooling systems;
Equipment, supplies, and persons necessary to establish and manage temporary housing, quarantine, and isolation facilities related to COVID-19;
Persons designated by federal, state, or local authorities for medical, isolation, or quarantine purposes; and
Persons necessary to provide other medical or emergency services, the supply of which may be affected by the COVID-19 response.

Direct assistance does not include routine commercial deliveries, including mixed loads with a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of this emergency declaration.

Direct assistance terminates when a driver or commercial motor vehicle is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services that are not in support of COVID-19 emergency relief efforts or when the motor carrier dispatches a driver or commercial motor vehicle to another location to begin operations in commerce. Upon termination of direct assistance, the motor carrier and driver are subject to the standard DOT requirements, except that a driver may return empty to the motor carrier’s terminal or the driver’s normal work reporting location without complying with Parts 390 through 399.

When a driver is moving from emergency relief efforts to normal operations, a 10-hour break is required when the total time a driver operates conducting emergency relief efforts, or a combination of emergency relief and normal operations, equals 14 hours.

The declaration does not permit motor carriers to require or allow fatigued drivers to operate a commercial motor vehicle. A driver who informs a carrier that they need immediate rest must be given at least 10 consecutive hours before they are required to return to service.

The declaration and its extension took immediate effect and are operative through May 15, 2020.

Read the declaration and its extension.

EEOC Issues Updated Covid-19 Technical Assistance Publication

The EEOC publishes FAQ regarding the FEEOL and COVID-19.

On April 17, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted an updated technical assistance publication addressing questions arising under the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, expands on a previous publication that focused on the ADA and Rehabilitation Act, and adds questions-and-answers to anticipating return to work situations, making reasonable accommodations, and harassment.

OSHA to Exercise Enforcement Discretion for Good Faith Efforts During COVID-19

OSHA released interim guidance regarding evaluating employer’s good faith effort to comply with safety and health standards during the coronavirus pandemic.

On April 16, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released interim guidance for compliance safety and health officers when evaluating an employer’s good faith efforts to comply with safety and health standards during the coronavirus pandemic. The interim guidance is time-limited and in effect only during the current public health crisis.

According to the guidance, current infection control practices may limit the availability of employees, consultants, or contractors who normally provide OSHA training, auditing, equipment inspections, testing, and other essential safety and industrial hygiene services. Business closures and other restrictions may also preclude employee participation in training if trainers are unavailable, and access to medical testing facilities may be limited or suspended. Therefore, during an inspection, compliance safety and health officers are directed to assess an employer’s efforts to comply with standards that require annual or recurring audits, reviews, training, or assessments. For instance, officers are directed to evaluate whether the employer:

Explored all options to comply with applicable standards (use of virtual training or remote communication strategies);
Implemented interim alternative protections, such as engineering or administrative controls; and
Rescheduled required annual activity as soon as possible.

Employers unable to comply with OSHA requirements because local authorities required their workplace to close should demonstrate a good faith attempt to meet applicable requirements as soon as possible following the workplace’s re-opening. Additionally, OSHA will strongly consider an employer’s good faith compliance attempts when determining whether to cite a violation. However, OSHA may issue a citation if it finds an employer cannot demonstrate any efforts to comply. OSHA is also developing a program to conduct monitoring inspections from a randomized sampling of cases where the agency noted, but did not cite, violations. This is to ensure employers have taken corrective actions once normal activities resume.

The guidance took effect on April 16, 2020 and is in effect until further notice.

Read the interim guidance and more on OSHA’s COVID-19 webpage.

OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements and COVID-19

OSHA released interim guidance regarding enforcing its recordkeeping requirements in recording COVID-19 cases.

On April 10, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued interim guidance for enforcing its recordkeeping requirements in recording COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 is a recordable illness, and employers are responsible for recording cases of the disease if the case:

Is confirmed as a COVID-19 illness;
Is work-related; and
Involves one or more of the general recording criteria, such as medical treatment beyond first aid or days away from work.

In areas where there is ongoing community transmission, employers other than those in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations (e.g., emergency medical, firefighting, and law enforcement services), and correctional institutions may have difficulty making determinations about whether workers who contracted COVID-19 did so due to exposures at work. Accordingly, until further notice, OSHA will not enforce its recordkeeping requirements to require these employers to make work-relatedness determinations for COVID-19 cases, except where:

There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related; and
The evidence was reasonably available to the employer. Employers of workers in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations, and correctional institutions must continue to make work-relatedness determinations.

OSHA’s enforcement policy will provide certainty to the regulated community and help employers focus their response efforts on implementing good hygiene practices in their workplaces and otherwise mitigating COVID-19’s effects.

Read the interim guidance and more on OSHA’s COVID-19 webpage.

EEOC Issues Updated Covid-19 Technical Assistance Publication

The frist round of FAQ regarding Covid-19 from the EEOC.

On April 9, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted an updated and expanded technical assistance publication addressing questions under the federal equal employment opportunity laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, expands on a previous publication that focused on the ADA and Rehabilitation Act, and adds responses to common inquiries in the following topics:

Disability related inquiries and medical exams;
Confidentiality of medical information;
Hiring and onboarding;
Reasonable accommodation; and
Furloughs and layoffs.

The EEOC also provides additional resources related to the pandemic in an employment context.

OSHA Reminder that Retaliation for Reporting Unsafe Conditions Prohibited

OSHA’s reminder to employers regarding retaliation against workers reporting unsafe conditions.

On April 8, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a reminder to employers that it is illegal to retaliate against workers when they report unsafe and unhealthful working conditions, including during the coronavirus pandemic. Retaliation may include termination, demotion, denial of overtime or promotion, or reduction in pay or hours.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), employees have the right to safe and healthy workplaces, and any worker who believes that their employer is retaliating against them for reporting unsafe working conditions is instructed to immediately contact OSHA.

Workers may contact OSHA or may file an online whistleblower complaint if they believe their employer has retaliated against them for exercising their rights under the whistleblower protection laws. The OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program webpage provides resources about worker rights, and includes fact sheets on whistleblower protections for employees in various industries along with frequently asked questions.

Read more about OSHA whistleblower protections.

DOL Guidance on Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

The DOL’s announcement of Unemployment Insurance Guidance Letter.

On April 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor announced publication of its Unemployment Insurance Guidance Letter 15-20 (UIPL 15-20) providing guidance to states for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). Under FPUC, states will administer an additional $600 weekly payment to certain eligible individuals who are receiving other benefits. This provision is contained in § 2104 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) enacted on March 27, 2020.

The program allows states to provide an additional $600 per week benefit to individuals who are collecting regular unemployment compensation, including Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX), as well as the following unemployment compensation programs:

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC);
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA);
Extended Benefits (EB);
ShortTime Compensation (STC);
Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA);
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA); and
Payments under the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program.

FPUC benefit payments are fully federally funded.

The benefit payments under FPUC may begin as soon as the week after the execution of a signed agreement between the Department of Labor and states. The timeline for these payments will vary by state. As states begin providing this payment, eligible individuals will receive retroactive payments back to their date of eligibility or the signing of the state agreement, whichever came later. All states have executed agreements with the department as of March 28, 2020. The CARES Act specifies that FPUC benefit payments will end after payments for the last week of unemployment before July 31, 2020.

The guidance letter also includes guidance about protecting unemployment insurance program integrity, as the provisions in the CARES Act operate in tandem with the fundamental eligibility requirements of the federal-state UI program. The department is working with states receiving funding under the act to provide unemployment insurance benefits to those who are entitled to them.

Read the announcement.

Temporary Rule: Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

New actions and protections under the DOL regarding the FFCRA.

On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor announced new action regarding the protections and relief offered by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, both part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA reimburses private employers with fewer than 500 employees with tax credits for the cost of providing employees with paid leave taken for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

The Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) posted a temporary rule issuing regulations pursuant to this new law, effective April 1, 2020. The regulations implement public health emergency leave under Title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and emergency paid sick leave to assist working families facing public health emergencies arising out of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The leave provisions are created by a time-limited statutory authority established under the FFCRA and are set to expire on December 31, 2020. The temporary rule is effective from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

In this temporary rule, the department:

Issues rules relevant to the administration of the FFCRA’s paid leave requirements.
Provides direction for administration of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA), which requires that certain employers provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to employees who need to take leave from work for certain specified reasons related to COVID-19. These reasons may include the following:
- The employee or someone the employee is caring for is subject to a government quarantine order or has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine;
- The employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking medical attention; or,
- The employee is caring for their son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed or whose childcare provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
Provides direction for administration of the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA), which requires that certain employers provide up to 10 weeks of paid, and two weeks unpaid, emergency family and medical leave to eligible employees if the employee is caring for their son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed or whose childcare provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

COVID-19 and Employee Retention Credit

Information regarding a Refundable tax credit of 50% of up to $10,000 in wages.

On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service launched the Employee Retention Credit. The refundable tax credit is 50 percent of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19. The credit is available to all employers regardless of size, including tax-exempt organizations, with the following two exceptions:

State and local governments and their instrumentalities; and
Small businesses who take small business loans.

Qualifying employers must fall into one of the following categories, which are calculated each calendar quarter:

The employer’s business is fully or partially suspended by government order due to COVID-19 during the calendar quarter.
The employer’s gross receipts are below 50 percent of the comparable quarter in 2019. Once the employer’s gross receipts go above 80 percent of a comparable quarter in 2019, they no longer qualify after the end of that quarter.

In calculating the credit, the amount of the credit is 50 percent of qualifying wages paid up to $10,000 in total. Wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021, are eligible for the credit. Wages considered for the credit are not limited to cash payments, but also include a portion of the cost of employer provided health care.

Qualifying wages are based on the average number of a business’s employees in 2019 as follows:

If the employer had 100 or fewer employees on average in 2019, the credit is based on wages paid to all employees, regardless if they worked or not. If the employees worked full-time and were paid for full-time work, then the employer still receives the credit.
If the employer had more than 100 employees on average in 2019, then the credit is allowed only for wages paid to employees who did not work during the calendar quarter.

Employers may be immediately reimbursed for the credit by reducing their required deposits of payroll taxes that have been withheld from their employees’ wages by the amount of the credit. Eligible employers will report their total qualified wages and the related health insurance costs for each quarter on their quarterly employment tax returns, or Form 941, beginning with the second quarter. If the employer’s employment tax deposits are not sufficient to cover the credit, the employer may receive an advance payment from the IRS by submitting Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19. Form 7200 may also be used by eligible employers to request an advance of the Employee Retention Credit.

State Specific Labor Law Updates:

Previous Labor Laws & Information

What Does Emergency Coronavirus Bill Mean For Employers

Posted on March 18, 2020June 14, 2024 by try HRIS

FFCRA Updates:

On Friday, March 20, the U.S. Treasury, IRS, and U.S. Department of Labor announced their plans for making the paid leave provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) less burdensome for small businesses. Key points include:

To take immediate advantage of the paid leave credits, businesses can retain and access funds that they would otherwise pay to the IRS in payroll taxes. If those amounts are not sufficient to cover the cost of paid leave, employers can seek an expedited advance from the IRS by submitting a streamlined claim form that will be released next week.
The Department of Labor will release “simple and clear” criteria for businesses with fewer than 50 employees to apply for exemptions from the leave provisions related to school and childcare closures; and
There will be a 30-day non-enforcement period for businesses making a reasonable effort.

Business slowdowns related to the spread of COVID-19 have made it hard to imagine how they could bear any additional expenses. We encourage anyone with these concerns to read the full announcement.

Emergency Coronavirus Bill Signed Into Law March 18, 2020

About H.R. 6201 Division D-F | Emergency Paid Leave Act of 2020

H.R 6201 legislation provides paid leave, establishes free testing, protects public health workers, and provides important benefits to children and families.

President Trump was quick to finalize the Emergency Coronavirus Bill, H.R.6201 – Families First Coronavirus Response Act this evening, March 18, 2020 after the revised proposed bill made it through the Senate. Passed quickly through the House of Representatives on March 14, the Nation has been anxiously awaiting to see what this bill will mean for businesses and their staff. H.R.6201 will go into effect on April 2, 2020 and will date out on December 31, 2020.

Many small businesses fear the impact this could have on their financials at an already uncertain time. Under the bill, many employers will have to provide 80 hours of paid-sick-leave benefits for several reasons including:

• If the employee has been ordered to quarantine or isolate or has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine because of COVID-19.

• If Employees use paid sick leave if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and are seeking a medical diagnosis,

• If they are caring for a relative who is in quarantine or isolation.

• Or if their child’s school or child care service is closed because of the public health emergency.

The first 10 days of emergency FMLA leave may consist of unpaid leave, but the employee MUST BE PAID for each day of leave after. Paid-sick-leave benefits will be immediately available when the law takes effect and capped at $511 a day for a worker’s own care and $200 a day when the employee is caring for someone else. This benefit will also expire at the end of 2020.

Exemptions to the Family First Coronavirus Act

Employers that are required to offer emergency FMLA or paid sick leave will be eligible for refundable tax credits.

• Employers with fewer than 50 workers can apply for an exemption from providing paid family and medical leave and paid sick leave if it “would jeopardize the viability of the business.”

• Gig-workers and other self-employed workers will be eligible for a tax credit to cover the benefits.

• Private businesses with more than 500 employees are not covered by the bill.

Work From Home Sample Policies, Official Workplace Posters, CDC information and much more. A Free Resource from tryHRIS.

What Should Employers Do to Prepare for H.R. 6201?

Employers Are Urged to Review Their Sick Leave Policies in Depth

Do employees have the right to take time off if they are worried about contracting coronavirus? Can employers take temperatures before allowing workers in? Is it fair to allow some to work from home and not others? What happens if we have to pay everyone but only half the workforce is able to work remotely?

HR and other business leaders are likely considering these questions and many others as COVID-19 makes its way through the United States.

What About the Government Small Business Loans?

H.R 6201 is sure to kick off the release of new funds into the Small Business funding programs currently making their way through government.

As of now the areas with small business loans available include:

State of California # 16332

State of Connecticut # 16335

Contiguous Counties:

MASSACHUSETTS:
Berkshire, Hampden, Worcester.

NEW YORK
Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester.

District of Columbia

Contiguous Counties:

MARYLAND:
Montgomery, Prince Georges.

VIRGINIA:
Alexandria City, Arlington, Fairfax.

State of Maine

Contiguous Counties:

NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Carroll, Rockingham, Strafford.

State of Montana

Contiguous Counties:

IDAHO:
Clearwater, Fremont, Idaho.

NORTH DAKOTA:
Divide, Williams.

WYOMING:
Park, Teton.

State of Nevada # 16341

Contiguous Counties:

ARIZONA:
Mohave.

IDAHO:
Cassia, Owyhee, Twin Falls.

OREGON:
Harney, Lake.

State of New Mexico

Contiguous Counties:

ARIZONA
Apache, Greenlee.

COLORADO:
Archuleta, Costilla, La Plata, Las Animas, Montezuma.

TEXAS:
Andrews, Cochran, Deaf Smith, El Paso, Gaines, Hartley, Loving, Oldham, Winkler, Yoakum.

State of Rhode Island

Contiguous Counties:

CONNECTICUT:
New London, Windham.

MASSACHUSETTS:
Bristol, Norfolk, Worcester.

State of Utah # 16338

Contiguous Counties:

ARIZONA:
Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo.

COLORADO
Dolores, Mesa, Montezuma, Montrose, San Miguel.

WYOMING
Sweetwater, Uinta.

Washington State # 16333

Contiguous Counties:

IDAHO
Benewah, Latah, Nez Perce.

OREGON
Gilliam, Hood River, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Wasco.

For continued updates and to see if your area has been added to the list visit the SBA.gov.

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Previous Labor Laws & Information

Federal Labor Laws (2019 Updates)

Posted on December 23, 2019February 12, 2020 by try HRIS

The end of the year is here and for those of you trying to play catch up with compliance, we’ve compiled a complete list of all Federal Labor Law updates for 2019.

We make sure catching up is never on your to-do list. tryHRIS’s membership includes the Regulatory Compliance Database, which alerts you when Federal & State laws, regulations or requirements change, keeping you informed.

Employment Law Updates (Highlights of 2019)

Employment law saw so many changes in 2019, here are a few of the highlights to take a closer look at.

Final 2020 W-4 Released

On December 5, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service released a final Form W-4 for use in 2020. Employees complete the Form W-4 so that their employers can withhold the correct federal tax from their paycheck. A significant change for the 2020 form is that it does not have withholding allowances because employees may no longer claim personal exemptions or dependency exemptions. Previously, the value of a withholding allowance was tied to the amount of the personal exemption.

Read what this means for employers and download the final W-4 2020 Form.

IRS Draft Forms

In November and December 2019, the Internal Revenue Service released the following draft tax forms for 2019:

- ● Form 1095-B, Health Coverage.
- ● Inst 1094-C and 1095-C, Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C.
- ● Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage.
- ● Inst 1094-B and 1095-B, Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B.
  These are early release drafts of IRS tax forms, instructions, and publications that the IRS provides to the public. These draft forms may not be filed or relied upon for filing. Although the IRS generally does not release draft forms until it believes it has incorporated all changes, sometimes unexpected issues arise or legislation is passed, requiring modifications. In addition, forms generally are subject to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s approval before their official release, and drafts of instructions and publications usually have some changes before their final release. These early release drafts are on the IRS draft tax forms page and may remain there even after the finals are posted on the IRS final release forms page.
  See the IRS draft tax forms page and final release forms page.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Requirements

16 States and Districts have now required or have made official comments regarding required Harassment Training.

Sexual & Discrimination Harassment Prevention Requirements continue to sweep the nation in 2020, heres the list of 2019’s States and their specific requirements.

AB5 California Compliance - An Assembly Bill to Watch in 2020.

In September 2019, California passed an unprecedented bill that defines employee classification on a new level, complete with fines for misclassification. Though this is specific to California, Assembly Bill 5 is likely to continue legislation in additional states and is certainly one to watch in the coming year.

Read what AB5 Compliance means for Employers in California and how it will affect you if the Bill passes in your state.

National Safety Council and Cannabis Impairment Statement Issued

On October 22, 2019, the National Safety Council (NSC) released a position/policy statement addressing cannabis impairment in safety sensitive positions and the NSC position that it is unsafe to be under the influence of cannabis while working in a safety sensitive position due to the increased risk of injury or death to the operator and others. Moreover, the NSC believes there is no level of cannabis use that is safe or acceptable for employees who work in safety sensitive positions.

The NSC is “a nonprofit organization with the mission of eliminating preventable deaths at work . . . through leadership, research, education and advocacy.”

Read the statement.

Download the State Marijuana Law Chart for more information about your state’s requirements.

HIPAA Penalties Updated

On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Notification of Enforcement Discretion Regarding HIPAA Civil Money Penalties (Document No. 2019-08530) in the Federal Register to inform the public that it will apply a different cumulative annual civil money penalties limit for each of the four penalty tiers in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. The HITECH Act established four categories for HIPAA violations:

No Knowledge (of a violation).
Reasonable Cause (was the reason for the violation and not willful neglect).
Willful Neglect — Corrected (willful neglect was the cause the violation and it was corrected within 30 days).
Willful Neglect — Not Corrected (willful neglect was the cause of the violation and it was not corrected within 30 days — not timely).

The amended penalties are as follows:

No Knowledge:
- Minimum Penalty/Violation: $100
- Maximum Penalty/Violation: $50,000
- Annual Limit: $25,000
Reasonable Cause:
- Minimum Penalty/Violation: $1,000
- Maximum Penalty/Violation: $50,000
- Annual Limit: $100,000
Willful Neglect — Corrected:
- Minimum Penalty/Violation: $10,000
- Maximum Penalty/Violation: $50,000
- Annual Limit: $250,000
Willful Neglect — Not Corrected:
- Minimum Penalty/Violation: $50,000
- Maximum Penalty/Violation: $50,000
- Annual Limit: $1,500,000

The penalties became effective April 30, 2019.

Read the Federal Register.

If these law alerts have you a bit overwhelmed and you find you have more questions than answers, our advisors can help your company navigate every new change, requirement, legislation, law and regulation. Give us a call to see how we can help streamline HR for professionals or office managers.

2019 Federal Labor Law Changes: October

Posted on October 28, 2019June 14, 2024 by try HRIS

Federal Employment laws saw five updates this past September. These employment law updates include:

National Safety Council and Cannabis Impairment.
SSA Contribution and Benefit Base.
DOL proposed Rule for FLSA Tip Provisions.
EEOC Data Collection Deadline Extension.
DOL Overtime Update.

Download Law Alerts for Future Reference

tryHRIS’s membership includes the Regulatory Compliance Database, which alerts you to all Federal & your selected State(s) law, regulation & requirement changes.

Federal Labor Law Update 1:

National Safety Council and Cannabis Impairment

The NSC supports policies to mitigate and eliminate the risks of Cannabis due to safety concerns as legalization and decriminalization continues.

The NSC is “a nonprofit organization with the mission of eliminating preventable deaths at work . . . through leadership, research, education and advocacy.”

Read the NSC Official Statement

Here’s a helpful HR Tool from our Compliance Database.

Federal Labor Law Update 2:

Social Security Administration Contribution and Benefit Base

The contribution annual limit base amount increased $4,800 to $137,700 for 2020.

On October 10, 2019, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that the 2020 Social Security wage base will be $137,700, an increase of $4,800 from the 2019 wage base of $132,900.

The SSA’s Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program limits the amount of earnings subject to taxation for a given year. The OASDI tax rate for wages paid in 2020 is set by statute at 6.2 percent each for employees and employers. Thus, an individual with wages equal to or more than $137,700 would contribute $8,537.40 to the OASDI program in 2020, and their employer would contribute the same amount. The OASDI tax rate for self-employment income in 2020 is 12.4 percent.

These rates are effective January 1, 2020. Read the Official Announcement.

Federal Labor Law Update 3:

Department of Labor Proposed Rule for FLSA Tip Provisions

FLSA allows an employer that meets certain requirements to count a limited amount of the tips its “tipped employees” receive as a credit toward its Federal minimum wage obligation (known as a “tip credit”).

On October 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for tip provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) implementing provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (CAA) and codifying existing Wage and Hour Division (WHD) guidance into a rule.

The CAA prohibits employers from keeping employees’ tips. The NPRM would allow employers who do not take a tip credit to establish a tip pool to be shared between workers who receive tips and are paid the full minimum wage and employees that do not traditionally receive tips, such as dishwashers and cooks.

The proposed rule would not impact regulations providing that employers who take a tip credit may only have a tip pool among traditionally tipped employees. An employer may take a tip credit toward its minimum wage obligation for tipped employees equal to the difference between the required cash wage (currently $2.13 per hour) and the federal minimum wage. Establishments utilizing a tip credit may only have a tip pool among traditionally tipped employees.

Additionally, under the proposed rule an employer may take a tip credit for any amount of time an employee in a tipped occupation performs related non-tipped duties with tipped duties. For the employer to use the tip credit, the employee must perform non-tipped duties contemporaneous with, or within a reasonable time immediately before or after, performing the tipped duties. The proposed regulation also addresses which non-tipped duties are related to a tip-producing occupation.

The proposed rule would also:

Explicitly prohibit employers, managers, and supervisors from keeping tips received by employees;
Remove regulatory language imposing restrictions on an employer’s use of tips when the employer does not take a tip credit. This would allow employers that do not take an FLSA tip credit to include a broader group of workers, such as cooks or dishwashers, in a mandatory tip pool.
Incorporate in the regulations, as provided under the CAA, new civil money penalties, currently up to $1,100, that may be imposed when employers unlawfully keep tips.
Amend the regulations so that an employer may take a tip credit for any amount of time that an employee in a tipped occupation performs related non-tipped duties at the same time as his or her tipped duties, or for a reasonable time immediately before or after performing the tipped duties.
Withdraw the DOL’s NPRM, published on December 5, 2017, that proposed changes to tip regulations as that NPRM was superseded by the CAA.

The NPRM will be available for review and public comment for 60 days. The DOL’s current NPRM publishes on October 8, 2019. Read the Official Overview.

Federal Labor Law Update 4:

EEO-1 Component Two Deadline Extended

The National Labor Relations Board adopted the ‘Contract coverage’ standard to replace the previous ‘clear and unmistakable waiver’ standard.

As ordered by the court’s decision in National Women’s Law Center, et al., v. Office of Management and Budget, et al., Civil Action No. 17-cv-2458 (D.D.C.), EEO-1 filers were required to submit Component 2 data for calendar year 2017, in addition to Component 2 data for calendar year 2018, by September 30, 2019. However, in a September 27, 2019 Status Report that was filed in the lawsuit discussing post-September 30th activities, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stated that so long as the court’s order is in effect stating that the collection will not be complete until it reaches what the court has determined to be the target response rate, the EEOC will continue to accept Component 2 data for 2017 and 2018. Subsequently, Component 2 data for 2017 and 2018 will be accepted beyond the original deadline of September 30, 2019. Read about the deadline extension.

Federal Labor Law Change 5:

Department of Labor Overtime Update

The department of Labor Announced a final rule regarding overtime pay regarding the earning thresholds and allows employers to count a portion of bonus/commission towards meeting salary levels.

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule regarding overtime pay. The ruling updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, and also allows employers to count a portion of certain bonuses/commissions toward meeting the salary level.

In the final rule:

The “standard salary level” increases from $455 per week to $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker);
The total annual compensation requirement for “highly compensated employees” increases from $100,000 per year to $107,432 per year;
Employers may use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10 percent of the standard salary level; and
The special salary levels for workers in U.S. territories and the motion picture industry was revised.

The final rule is effective on January 1, 2020.

Read the official final rule.

Here’s a helpful HR Tool from our Compliance Database.

If you have questions about how these federal law changes affect your business, our advisors can help your company navigate every new change, requirement, legislation, law and regulation. Give us a call to see how we can help streamline HR for professionals or office managers.

Previous Law Alerts

Federal Labor Law Changes: September

IRS W-4 2020 Draft: What it means for employers.

Federal Employment Law Updates | September 2019

Posted on October 1, 2019June 22, 2022 by try HRIS

Federal Employment laws saw four updates this past September. These employment law updates include:

Federal Minimum wage increase for Federal Contractors.
New DOL Opinion letters regarding the FMLA, FLSA and CCPA.
Changes to the EEOC Data Collection requirements.
The NLRB adoption of ‘Contract coverage’.

Download Law Alerts for Future Reference

tryHRIS’s membership includes the Regulatory Compliance Database, which alerts you to all Federal & State law, regulation & requirement changes.

Federal Employment Law Update 1:

Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Increase

This raises the minimum wage for federal contract workers beginning January 1, 2020.

On September 19, 2019, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the applicable minimum wage rate for workers performing work on or in connection with federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors. Beginning January 1, 2020, the minimum wage rate applicable to workers performing work on or in connection with covered contracts increases to $10.80 per hour, and the required minimum cash wage applicable to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts increases to $7.55 per hour.

Read the notice.

Here’s a helpful HR Tool from our Compliance Database.

Federal Employment Law Update 2:

EEOC will not seek renewal of Component 2 Data Collection

The EEOC will not seek renewal for Component 2 Data due to the benefit being ‘far outweighed by the burden imposed on employers’ that must comply with the reporting obligation.

On September 12, 2019, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register an announcement that it does not intent to submit to a request to renew Component 2 data collection. The EEOC has determined that the burden-estimate associated with the EEO-1 is higher than it has previously estimated.

According to the unpublished notice, “The Commission now concludes that it should consider information from the ongoing Component 2 data collection before deciding whether to submit a pay data collection [request going forward]. At this point in time, the unproven utility to its enforcement program of the pay data as defined in the 2016 Component 2 is far outweighed by the burden imposed on employers that must comply with the reporting obligation. Therefore, the EEOC is not seeking to renew Component 2 of the EEO-1.” The EEO-1 Component 2 collections for 2017 and 2018 are currently underway and are due September 30, 2019.

Desipte the higher burden, the EEOC still intends to continue its collection of Component 1 data because it “is necessary for the proper performance of the agency’s functions and has a practical utility to the fulfillment of the EEOC’s mission.”

Read the Unpublished Document.

Federal Employment Law Update 3:

DOL Releases Opinion Letters

Three opinion letters to help businesses navigate the compliance issues of the FMLA, the FLSA and the CCPA.

On September 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced three new opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) as follows:

FMLA2019-3-A: Addressing whether an employer may delay designating paid leave as FMLA leave due to a collective-bargaining agreement;
FLSA2019-13: Addressing the ordinary meaning of the phrase “not less than one month” for purposes of FLSA § 7(i)’s representative period requirement; and
CCPA2019-1: Addressing whether employers’ contributions to employees’ health savings accounts are earnings under the CCPA.

Read the announcement

Federal Employment Law Update 4:

NLRB Adopts Contract Coverage Standard

The National Labor Relations Board adopted the ‘Contract coverage’ standard to replace the previous ‘clear and unmistakable waiver’ standard.

On September 10, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released its decision in M.V. Transportation, Inc. (28-CA-173726; 368 NLRB No. 66) where it adopted the “contract coverage” standard for determining whether a unionized employer’s unilateral change in a term or condition of employment violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This decision replaces the former “clear and unmistakable waiver” standard, where the NLRB would find that an employer’s unilateral change violated the act unless a contractual provision unequivocally and specifically referred to the type of employer action at issue.

Under the “contract coverage” standard, the NLRB examines the language of the parties’ collective-bargaining agreement to determine whether the change made by the employer was within the compass or scope of contractual language granting the employer the right to act unilaterally. If it was, the NLRB honors the terms of the agreement and the employer will not have violated the act by making the change without bargaining. However, if the agreement does not cover the employer’s disputed action, then employer is in violation of the act unless it can demonstrate either:

The union waived its right to bargain over the change; or
The employer was privileged to act unilaterally for some other reason.

Read the decision.

Previous Federal Law Updates

Federal Law Update: What the W-4 2020 Draft Means for Employers

Federal Law Update: EEOC Opens Pay Data Portal

Blog: 14 Things to Include or Avoid in Your Employee Handbook

EEOC Opens Pay Data Collection Portal

Posted on July 24, 2019June 14, 2024 by try HRIS

Attention: Employers with over 100 Employees

On July 15, 2019, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) opened its web-based portal for the collection of pay and hours worked data for calendar years 2017 and 2018.

If your company employed over 99 employees during the snapshot period in 2017 or 2018, you are required to submit your Component 2 Data by September 30, 2019.

Our Compliance Database alerted us to this information as soon as it became available. See how our alerts can help you stay compliant and up to date when Federal & State laws, regulations or requirements change.

EEOC Opens Portal for 2017 & 2018 Pay Data Collection

As ordered by the court’s recent decision in National Women’s Law Center v. Office of Management and Budget Civil Action No. 17-cv-2458 (D.D.C.), EEO-1 filers must submit both Component 2 data for calendar years 2017 and 2018 by September 30, 2019.

Employers, including federal contractors, are required to submit Component 2 compensation data for:

2017 if they have 100 or more employees during the 2017 workforce snapshot period; and

2018 if they have 100 or more employees during the 2018 workforce snapshot period.

The workforce snapshot period is an employer-selected pay period between October 1 and December 31 of the reporting year. Federal contractors and other private employers with fewer than 100 employees are not required to report Component 2 compensation data.

Additional Sources for Employers

Sample Form — the proposed EEO-1 Form to collect pay data in the Component 2 EEO-1 Online Filing System.
Instruction Booklet for Filers — instructions for submitting the Component 2 EEO-1 Report.
User’s Guide — instructions for using the Component 2 EEO-1 Online Filing System.
Fact Sheet for Component 2 EEO-1 Report Filers — a list of important deadlines, reminders, and definitions to support a successful submission of Component 2 data for 2017 and 2018 calendar years.
Component 2 EEO-1 Compensation Data Collection Initial Notification — the letter sent on July 1, 2019 to notify companies of the immediate reinstatement of the revised Component 2 EEO-1 collection for 2017 and 2018.
Reference Documents — supporting reference materials including the job classification guide, 2017 NAICS codes, a Postal Code Lookup file.

See the notice and login to file beginning July 15, 2019.

Our Free HR Tools help simplify compliance. Check them out today.

Our system helps your company navigate every new change, requirement, legislation, law and regulation. Give us a call to see how we can help streamline HR for professionals or office managers.

IRS W-4 2020 Released: What it Means for Employers

Posted on June 10, 2019December 6, 2023 by try HRIS

Official W-4 2020 Form was released December 5, 2019.

December 8th 9:52Am

On December 5, 2019 the IRS released the official version of the 2020 Form W-4. See below for what these changes include and what they could mean for employers.

Employers: Tax Withholding Assistant Tool

To help small businesses calculate the amount of federal income tax to withhold from their employees, the IRS created the helpful tool: Tax Withholding Estimator.

W-4 Form Changes for 2020 Include:

A Claim on Dependents. Step 3 of the 2020 W-4 Draft provides an option to claim an allowance of $2,000 per dependent under the age of 17, or $500 for other qualifying dependents if the employee’s income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less if married filing separately.)
An Optional Adjustment Request to Federal Withholding. Step 4 of the 2020 W-4 Draft allows employees to optionally withhold:

A. Interest, dividends, retirement or other nonwage income.

B. Itemized or other deductions for the household, other than the standard deductions.

C. Employee’s determine the amount of federal income they wish to withhold.

3. Another change to this step of the 2020 IRS Form W-4, step 4 does not currently contain the option of entering income from multiple sources of income. Instead, step 2 now instructs employees to use the IRS calculator or the attached worksheets to estimate further withholding requirements. Employees would now enter that amount as “additional amount you want withheld in each pay period” on line C of Step 4.

See the Official W4 2020.

Employer FAQ about the 2020 W-4 Form

Below are actual Employer Questions to the IRS and the IRS’s Response.

Are new employees that start after Jan 1, 2020 required to fill out the redesigned form?

Yes. All new employees first paid after 2019 must use the redesigned form. Similarly, any other employee who wishes to adjust their withholding must use the redesigned form.

How should we treat new employees beginning employment after 2019 who choose not complete a Form W-4?

New employees first paid after 2019 who fail to furnish a Form W-4 will be treated as a single flier with no other adjustments. (See Full IRS Answer)

Are there computer programs available to help my employees complete the W-4 Form accurately?

Yes. The Tax Withholding Estimator is available at irs.gov/W4app Your employees should consider using the withholding estimator if they:

• expect to work only part of the year (this does not apply if you are only switching jobs),

• had a large balance due or refund last year and it is no longer the beginning of the current year,

• have dividend or capital gain or are subject to additional taxes, such as the additional Medicare tax,

• have self-employment income,

• prefer the most accurate withholding for multiple job situations, or

• prefer to limit information provided in Steps 2-4, but do not want to sacrifice accuracy.

If a current employee paid prior to 2020 wants to adjust withholding from their pay dated January 1, 2020 or later, do they have to fill out the new W-4 Form?

Yes. They must use the redesigned form.

May I ask all of my employees paid before 2020 to furnish new Forms W-4 using the redesigned version of the form?

Yes, you can ask they complete the new form, BUT as part of the request you should explain that:

they are not required to furnish a new Form W-4, and
if they do not furnish a new Form W-4, withholding will continue based on a valid form previously furnished. (See Full IRS Answer)

Are all employees required to furnish a new Form W-4?

No. Employees who have furnished Form W-4 in any year before 2020 are not required to furnish a new form merely because of the redesign. Employers will continue to compute withholding based on the information from the employee’s most recently furnished Form W-4. (See Full IRS Answer)

What happened to withholding allowances?

Allowances are no longer used for the redesigned Form W-4. This change is meant to increase transparency, simplicity, and the accuracy of the form. (See Full IRS Answer)

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