A company’s human resource services department is responsible for so many important tasks, from tax filing to legal compliance to training and employee skill development.

Small, medium and even large businesses see many benefits in outsourcing in order to cut costs and streamline their business functions. This leaves them time and energy to focus on their specialties while leaving complex human resource tasks to trained professionals.

Here are six reasons you should consider outsourcing as well:

1. Save Money

A human resources department can consume a large portion of a company’s budget. As your
business grows, you have to hire additional team members to meet the needs of your
company. But the larger your business, the more money you can save by outsourcing.

2. Stay in Compliance

Employment law changes and evolves over time. If your human resources department is
overwhelmed, they may not have the time to devote to compliance research. When you
outsource work to specialists in this area, you lower your risk of lawsuit.

3. Handle Workload Increases

A sudden increase in work can easily overwhelm a small department, but outsourcing some
of these responsibilities can ensure your in-house employees stay abreast of your company’s
expansion.

It takes time and money to replace a lost employee, but if you outsource your human
resource services, maintaining that staff will not be your headache anymore.

4. Access Professional Training

Instead of spending time and energy developing training programs for your employees, let
outsourced human resource services manage this task. Employee development will be made a
priority, and all progress will be tracked and reported, decreasing the amount of training and
number of administrative tasks company leaders would normally have to manage.

5. Ensure Business Operations Are Focused

Whether you plan on outsourcing many tasks or just a few of the more complex
responsibilities, streamlining business operations frees you and your employees to work on
improving workplace efficiency. When no one is bogged down with paperwork, the focus
shifts, and you and your team can work together toward productive goals.

6. Utilize Superior Skill Sets and the Latest Technology

No human resources staff member is an expert in all things. A collective outsourced team can
provide services that a small in-house department cannot, such as specialized, top-tier
recruiting.

Also, outsourcing to a dedicated human resources provider ensures your company can take
advantage of the industry’s latest tools and technology.

WTA, Inc. can help you grow your business — find out today how outsourced human resource
services can help improve your company’s bottom line.

Compliance with employment law starts with the hiring process. From posting a job to
conducting interviews to selecting candidates, it’s important to stay conscious of both state and
federal regulations so you can avoid violations and fines.

The hiring process can go smoothly, as long as you observe the following five guidelines as you
put together the advertisement and the interview questions in order to stay in compliance.

1. Check Your Job Description for ADA Compliance

Your job listing cannot be discriminatory. To stay in compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), the phrases included in the job listing must be chosen carefully. For
example, instead of “walk around” the office, opt for “move around.” Instead of using the
words “talk” or “hear,” choose “communicate.”

Physical conditions are considered disabilities, but so are chronic illnesses like AIDS and
cancer, along with mental disorders like schizophrenia. To stay in compliance, employers are
required to treat any job applicant with a disability the same as all other candidates.

2. Avoid All Mention of Race, Ethnicity and Citizenship Status

During the interview, never ask about an applicant’s ethnic origins or comment on their name
or appearance. Even asking about their language proficiency can be construed as
discriminatory.

You are allowed to ask them to complete Form I-9, which verifies the identity and eligibility
of a worker to be hired in the U.S., but requesting any additional documentation is
prohibited.

3. Never Mention a Woman’s Pregnancy

Employers are not allowed to deny a position to a woman based on her pregnancy or a
condition related to her pregnancy, as this is gender-based discrimination.

You may be hoping to hire an employee who plans on staying with the company for the long
term, but you cannot ask specific questions about a candidate’s current or future pregnancies.
You can ask general questions about her future plans to gauge her commitment level, but stay
away from all inquiries into her personal life.

4. Don’t Talk About Age

Employers are not allowed to make assumptions about a person’s capabilities based on their
age. You cannot ask how old candidates are, and you cannot ask questions that may be
misconstrued as an age-related inquiry, such as asking about their retirement plans or what
year they graduated.

5. Ignore all Social Connections

All social groups or clubs, including political party memberships or religious affiliations,
must not be mentioned in the interview in order to stay in compliance. Even if you are simply
trying to be friendly and make conversation, any questions that veer outside of the main topic
can be viewed as discriminatory, good intentions or not.

Only ask questions that relate to the individual’s ability to meet the duties and responsibilities
of the position and you will stay in compliance with both local and federal law.

If you need assistance with hiring and want to ensure your organization stays in full compliance
with all state and federal laws and regulations, trust WTA to manage this process, add new hires to your team and help assure your company’s success.

What Is Unemployment Insurance?

When the U.S. implemented the Social Security Act of 1935 during the Great Depression, it was decided as a country that people who lost work to no fault of their own would receive some economic relief. Unemployment insurance laws are currently governed and controlled by individual states. Some states already offered it. Wisconsin was the first state, in 1932, but Utah had unemployment insurance laws before 1935 as well. So did California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Washington state. People within the U.S. at the time were deeply conscious of a need to help others, because the entire country was struggling with the economy. The 1935 Act was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt; the U.S. Supreme Court decided it was constitutional in 1937.

Today, unemployment insurance protection is still a very meaningful program for both employers and employees alike, especially in times of economic recession — the Great Recession immediately comes to mind — as well as mergers and reductions in force. Its main function is to provide temporary income protection. However, it is not meant as a way to support anyone who isn’t willing to work. If an employee quits a job voluntarily and without good cause, is fired for misconduct, or refuses to apply for or accept suitable work, that person may be disqualified from receiving benefits.

Key Terminology

This is not to say that a person can’t quit. People can quit for a good cause, or they can quit for a reason that is “not contrary to equity and good conscience,” and still get unemployment benefits. One example of a good cause is defined as being asked to do something that is either illegal or unsuitable. Equity and good conscience is defined as a situation where the person claiming unemployment was acting in a “logical, sensible, or practical” way by quitting. The reason for quitting might not be enough to be considered a good cause, but if it would be “unreasonably harsh” or unfair to deny benefits, and the former employee is still interested in working somewhere else, then that employee might very well be entitled to unemployment benefits.

The idea behind finding out why someone left a job before making a decision about unemployment benefits is to prevent people from getting benefits when they quit just because they didn’t want to work at a specific company anymore.

There are other protections for the employer as well. In Utah, someone who wants to apply for unemployment benefits has to have worked recently for at least a year, and the work has to be recent; for example, the year has to be within four of the last five calendar quarters. In other words, people can’t get a job for just a short time and then expect to qualify for unemployment benefits on that basis.

Who Pays For Unemployment Insurance?

Contrary to what most people think, unemployment insurance is not paid for, or provided by, the federal or state government. Instead, indiUnemployment Insurance vidual employers pay it on the basis of the company’s experience rating (EMOD), which is determined by the number of unemployment claims paid by the state on behalf of a particular employer during a given period of time. In some ways it is like other insurance. If a company has higher unemployment claims, it pays a higher tax rate. To facilitate the program, the government uses Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) & State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA).

What to do about fraud

Although unemployment is a vital benefit for employers and employees alike, fraudulent claims have a negative effect on employers and the country as a whole. Suppose an employee is fraudulently collecting unemployment. Perhaps the employee actually quit voluntarily, or was fired for cause, even though the employer could not provide proof of misconduct. An employee who fraudulently collects unemployment increases an employer’s SUTA rate unnecessarily, increases the country’s unemployment rate and uses government resources that should have been allocated somewhere else.

Preventing unemployment fraud is one excellent reason why companies should have a progressive discipline plan in place; the plan protects the employer, doesn’t waste government resources, and stabilizes the program for its intended purpose, which is helping workers who need it. It can also reduce an employer’s legal liability, because following the program, when done right, establishes that a former employee was treated fairly. Even in a state that has at-will employment, wrongful termination is still something every employer ought to avoid. Please review our article about progressive discipline for more information.

Processing claims

Another important factor in unemployment claims is properly managing and processing the claims. The more information you have as an employer, in terms of tracking written warnings, keeping accurate time cards and proactively responding to claims, the more easily you can manage your SUTA rate and ensure that it is accurate. The state will conduct unemployment audits to ensure employees haven’t been working for you and also receiving insurance benefits simultaneously. These audits have a simple format where the employer reports the number of hours worked by the employees. If an employer is too busy to maintain time records, then the employer can’t give those records to the state, and problems develop. Without accurate, timely records, it’s all too possible for an employee to be paid insurance benefits and wages at the same time.

In conclusion, unemployment insurance is a beneficial program for employers and employees when it is used correctly because it provides a welcome safety net. But with the effects of the recession still apparent in today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to be prepared to defend your business by implementing a progressive discipline policy for your workforce and by contesting fraudulent claims.

If you would like to find out what your turnover rate is, and gain a better understand of how unemployment is affecting your company, please contact the WTA HR Department.

Mistakenly classifying an employee as an independent contractor can result in significant fines and penalties.
There are 20 factors used by the IRS to determine whether you have enough control over a worker
to be an employer. Though these rules are intended only as a guide — the IRS says the importance of each
factor depends on the individual circumstances — they should be helpful in determining whether you wield
enough control to show an employer-employee relationship. If you answer “Yes” to all of the first four
questions, you’re probably dealing with an independent contractor; “Yes” to any of questions 5 through 20
means your worker is probably an employee.